Shoaib Malik has said he would use his visit to India for the Twenty20 Champions League to convince Indian players to tour Pakistan for the Test series early next year.

The Pakistan skipper told reporters in Lahore on Tuesday that he was convinced that conditions were conducive for India to tour Pakistan in January-February and play their series as per schedule.

Malik will be leading the Sialkot Stallions in the Champions League in India next month and said this would give him a good opportunity to exchange views with the Indian players, media and even officials.

“I will do my best to convince them it is safe to tour Pakistan. I will let them know how important it is for India to tour Pakistan on schedule,” he said.

Malik said his Sialkot team was preparing hard for the USD four million Champions League and were confident about their chances against the champion Twenty20 sides from the Indian Premier League, Australia, England and South Africa.

“We have prepared hard and well for the tournament and we have some good players so we do fancy our chances of doing well,” he said.

He said the fact that Sialkot had done well in Pakistan’s domestic Twenty20 competition and won it thrice had added to the confidence of the players.

Sialkot will miss the services of Imran Nazir, Rana Naved and Mohammad Asif for various reasons in the Champions League. While Nazir and Naved have signed up for the Indian Cricket League and can’t play for Sialkot, Asif is presently suspended by the Pakistan board over a doping offence.

Malik said India’s tour to Pakistan would help revive the sport in the country after a troubled year for the country’s cricket.

“The Indians have to realise what this tour means to us. It can be played at neutral venues but the impact of India being in Pakistan is very very important for us as a country, Malik added.