Younis' absence will hurt Pak on fast and bouncy tracks Down Under: Nielsen
Sydney:Australian coach Tim Nielsen has said that the visiting Pakistan team has made a big mistake by omitting a player of former captain Younis Khan's calibre, while playing on the fast and bouncy tracks Down Under. Younis had stepped down as captain
and opted out of the tour of New Zealand saying that he had "lost command" of
the side. He was later not picked for the Australian Test series, as he had not
played first-class cricket since the start of his temporary break from international
cricket. "It's always hard to replace experienced players who've been to Australia
or played all over the world, that's what makes them excellent players," The News
quoted Nielsen, as saying. "When you lose someone who's also had the experience
of being the captain and also a leader in their group, it will be challenging
for them if we can put them under pressure, for their younger players to have
to cope with those things," he added. Nielsen further said that the Aussies would
not make the mistake of taking the Pakistan team lightly. "It's something we'll
try to capitalise on, the fact they may be a little inexperienced at different
times in their middle order, but we certainly won't be taking them any lighter
because he's not there," he said. According to reports, Younis had a chat with
Pakistan chief selector Iqbal Qasim earlier this week in which he expressed his
keenness to return to the domestic circuit. He is expected make his comeback with
the one-day series opener against Australia in Brisbane next month.
