Setting the tone for another fierce cricketing rivalry between the two traditional foes, Pakistan captain Shoaib Malik said the Twenty20 World Cup final defeat was now “history” and it would have no bearing on the outcome of the series.

“Our defeat in the Twenty20 World Cup final is history and we are here to play a new series,” Malik told a crowded press conference here.

Coach Geoff Lawson said Pakistan would try to avenge their Twenty20 final defeat against the Indian team.
“We had lost the final of Twenty20 World Cup against India, so we have some scores to settle,” he said and brushed aside concerns on the bowling front, with paceman Mohd Asif missing from the team.

“At the moment, we have four very good pace bowlers in the ranks. Shoaib Akhtar is back and Umar Gul was outstanding in the Twenty20 World Cup. Rao Iftikar was the highest wicket-taker in the series against South Africa and then we also have Sohail Tanveer.

“Of course you need a pacer of Asif’s calibre and we are expecting him to join the side after completing rehabilitation,” said the Australian. He also refused to read much into some of the former players’ observation that India would start favourites in the series.

“Well, it’s nice that former players make observations on current players but in spite of that, we have to play well and do well. There is not much between being favourites and not being favourites,” he said.

Malik, as well as his Indian counterpart Mahendra Singh Dhoni, would need to handle senior players in their respective sides but that hardly seemed a worry for the Pakistani.“I have played with Shoaib (Akhtar) Bhai, (Mohammad) Yousuf and Younis (Khan) for a long time and we get along well. They have been very good to me and cooperated a lot. So I don’t see it as a problem.”

On whether frequent India-Pakistan series was killing the charm, Malik said, “I don’t think so. The more we play, the better it is for us. Indo-Pak series is always very exciting and it’s a gentleman’s game. So the more it is, the better it is,” he said.

Talking about the Indian team, Malik said the side was full with star players but going by current form, Yuvraj Singh poses the biggest threat to the visitors.“(Sachin) Tendulkar, Virender (Sehwag), Dhoni — all are good players. But if current form is to go by, the biggest danger comes from Yuvraj,” he said.

He also heaped praise on left-arm seamer RP Singh and said “he has emerged as an extraordinary bowler. His line, length and pace — everything has improved. He looks a different bowler altogether since we last played against him.“Anyway, we have a plan in place to disturb his rhythm.”

Meanwhile, commenting on India’s new-found aggression that was on ample display in the series against Australia, Lawson hoped that the forthcoming series would see two traditional rivals playing the game in a hard way but also maintaining mutual respect for each other.

Sehwag to miss tie
Pakistan prepare for the high-profile cricket series against India with a warm-up game against the Delhi Ranji team here on Friday.

Having already suffered a big jolt with paceman Mohammed Asif being ruled out for the ODI series, the visitors will be eager to give their key players a chance to hit form against the local team which will be without the services of Virender Sehwag and pace duo Ashish Nehra and Ishant Sharma.