Prolific Pakistani batsman Mohammad Yousuf has expressed surprise at his recent run of impressive scores against South Africa as he had been away from cricket for a long time.Yousuf was omitted from the team for the Twenty20 World Cup in South Africa and returned to the side in the second Test against the Proteas in Lahore.After scores of 25 and 63 not out in that match, he has had knocks of 53, 117 and 58 not out in the first three ODIs which helped Pakistan take a 2-1 lead in the five-match series."I never expected this type of success on making my comeback because I was not able to train properly for this series having been out of action for the last two months," Yousuf said."I was away with a religious congregation to the Northern Areas for 40 days. Even I didn't expect this sort of success on my comeback." Yousuf has also won the ICC Test Player of the Year award for 2006 for his record-breaking 1,788 runs in 11 matches with nine hundreds during the period. The senior batsman, who has played in 76 Tests for his country so far, said a major reason for his recent success was that he had learnt to accept everything as an act of fate."I now accept success and failure as fate. I don't worry about it. Being closer to religion has given me the mental strength to deal with pressure," he added.But Yousuf made it clear that when on the cricket field his focus remains completely on the game."On the cricket field I want to score runs for my team and if it wins it is a big bonus for me. If my runs convert into success for Pakistan it is a job well done for me. I do my religious duties and acts when I am not playing cricket."Yousuf also said he did not have any special preparation for the upcoming tour of India and was taking it like any other series."My job is to score runs and I want to do that in India also like I would against any other team," he added.
