Former Pakistan captain
Inzamam-ul-Haq has
welcomed the return of
Sharjah Cricket Stadium
as a venue for
Pakistan’s upcoming
home series against Sri
Lanka followed by
England’s tour. With
foreign teams reluctant
to tour Pakistan over
security concerns,
Inzamam described
Sharjah as the next best
destination away from
home. “It’s a great
venue and if India and
Pakistan matches are
held here it will be of
great significance. Both
the communities here
are vast and people will
get an opportunity to
witness some great
cricket. They will come
in big numbers.
The ground has
witnessed highest
number of ODIs and
this would be really
great for cricket. If it
starts again it will be
very good,” he was
quoted as saying by
website emirates
247.com on Thursday.
Sharjah will host a Test
match after nine years
and also a one-day
international during
Pakistan’s series against
Sri Lanka which begins
next month.
Inzamam called for the
regularisation of India-
Pakistan series because
fans of both countries
are keen to see their
cricketers playing
against each other as
evidenced during the
turbo-charged World
Cup semifinal.
“There will be strong
competition and cricket
will be played at a top
level. It will generate
interest among the
youngsters and the
passion will grow and
the game will also
improve among the
teams,” he added.
“If it does not happen
in the home country,
they can have in a
neutral venue and
people will surely come
where ever it is held,”
he said endorsing
Sharjah as the ideal
neutral venue.
Talking of schedules, he
blamed an overdose of
cricket for the injuries to
India’s players during
their disastrous tour of
England although
acknowledging the
hosts were the better
team. “Earlier there
were decent gaps
between matches.
Players were getting
sufficient rest and in a
year there were only six
to eight Tests and 15 to
20 ODIs.
“So this gave players
enough time to recover.
But now the players
don’t have so much of
time. So when a player
is injured he does not
get the proper rest
required and he plays
and aggravates injuries,”
said Inzamam.
He also felt that players
found it difficult to
switch gears from Tests,
one-day and Twenty20
formats of the game
though not finding fault
with the lucrative Indian
Premier League (IPL).
“India for the last six
months have been
playing only the shorter
format and suddenly
playing the longer
version affected their
temperament.
They were already
under pressure and
because of mounting
injury list during the
series it became difficult
for them to win. It’s not
because of IPL or
anything but because of
too much of cricket
which increases the risk
of injuries,” he said.
He also urged all-
rounder Shahid Afridi to
resolve his differences
with the Pakistan Cricket
Board and make a
comeback to the sport.
“He is a good player
and if he comes back
it’s good for the team
but first the differences
between him and the
board have to be sorted
out. It is not good when
players and board fight
through the media,” he
said.
One-day skipper Afridi
quit international cricket
after being stripped of
captaincy during the
tour of West Indies.
Coach Waqar Younis
also subsequently
resigned citing personal
reasons.
However, Inzamam felt
there was no need to
appoint a foreign coach
because there were so
many experienced past
players to choose from
in Pakistan.
“I don’t think we need
to search for a coach
outside Pakistan. I think
in Pakistan there are so
many great players
capable of being
coach,” he said.
Inzamam said they
should pick someone
who has experience in
all three formats of the
game. “Saeed Anwar is
there, Mushtaq Ahmed
is coaching in England,
Saqlain Mushtaq has
coached in New
Zealand. So we have
players who have
served as coaches in
different countries. So
the Pakistan board has
to hire such players
which will benefit the
team,” he said.
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