The Hindu : Sport : Pakistan not looking for revenge: Inzamam

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Feb 23, 2005

Sport

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Pakistan not looking for revenge: Inzamam

LONDON, FEB. 22 Revenge will not be uppermost in the minds of Pakistan players when they tour India next week and they would concentrate instead on playing good cricket so that goodwill is built, says skipper Inzamam-ul-Haq.

Pakistan had lost both the Test and one-day series at home against India last year, but Inzamam dismissed the suggestion that his team would be going to India with a feeling of revenge.

``There is no revenge in sports, but we will play to win. We will try to play good cricket so that our relations can improve and the cricketing relations between India and Pakistan can continue,'' he said.

Inzamam said if his players performed to their potential, they could counter any challenge, including the presence of Sachin Tendulkar.

``Sachin is a great player and he lifts his team but if my players perform to their potential, I would not worry about anybody, it would not matter to me at all,'' he told BBC Radio from Lahore last night.

The Pakistan skipper also said pressure will be on the Indians in the three-Test and six match one-day series.

``There is always more pressure on the home team as there are more expectations from them,'' he said. ``The deciding factor is not going to be experience but talent and enthusiasm. The team that plays with more passion and enthusiasm will have a definite advantage. And I have a young team which is full of all these, so my team will fare much better than it did during the Australian tour.''

Praising Indian captain Sourav Ganguly, he said, ``Ganguly has produced results for his team which is there for everybody to see. He is a good captain and a good player too.''

The Pakistani skipper also said his team would miss `Rawalpindi Express' Shoaib Akhtar who has opted out of the Test series owing to fitness problems.

``Shoaib is our strike bowler and he performed well in Australia. We can't help it if he is injured. He can be dangerous for other teams and an asset for us only if he is fit but unfortunately he is not," Inzamam said. — PTI

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