The Hindu : Sport / Cricket : ‘Muralitharan, Mendis not a threat’

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‘Muralitharan, Mendis not a threat’

Karachi: Pakistan skipper Younus Khan on Saturday pointed out spinners Muttiah Muralitharan and Ajantha Mendis as a major threat to his team’s chances but exuded confidence that his team can cope with the challenge posed by the Sri Lankan spinners.

“The morale of the team is on a high at the moment after winning the T20 World Cup. And this is the best time for us to be touring Sri Lanka who are a very good team,” Younus said on the eve of Pakistan’s departure to Sri Lanka.

“The expectations from us are high now after our World Cup win and Sri Lanka has a very good side specially they have a very good spin attack.

“Until now Pakistani and Indian batsmen have played Muralitharan and Mendis well. That gives us a good chance of doing well in Sri Lanka. Plus we always tend to do well in Sri Lanka,” he added.

Pakistan would play three Tests, five one-dayers and a Twenty20 international on its month-long tour which is the first full bilateral series for Pakistan since it played in India in December, 2007.

Sri Lanka had toured Pakistan for a short two-Test series in February-March this year but the series was abandoned midway during the second Test in Lahore after the militants attacked the touring side on March 3.

Younus also praised the fighting spirit of the Sri Lankan team.

“For a team to undergo the sort of terrifying incident they faced when they came under attack I must say the Sri Lankan players have shown great resilience and courage to recover so quickly from that episode,” Younus said. — PTI

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