Indian Batsmen Played For Themselves, Not For The Team: Inzamam-Ul-Haq

Former Pakistan captain and chief selector Inzamam-ul-Haq said that the difference between Pakistan and India during his playing days was that the Indian batsmen would be playing to secure their place in the side whereas the Pakistan batsmen played for the team and not individual records, as they always had the backing of their captain, especially under Imran Khan. Inzamam was speaking to former Pakistan teammate Ramiz Raja during a talk show on the latter's YouTube channel. Ramiz Raja asked about the current crop of Pakistani players possessing great natural talent but sometimes being too afraid of failure, leading to the team having to often find their way back from near-impossible situations.

Responding to this, Inzamam said that if players are thinking on a series-by-series basis, that if they succeed in one then they will have their place and they will be dropped if they fail, they will never be able to play to their best ability.

He spoke about how Imran Khan would never drop players after a bad series or two and how that allowed them to play better back then.

Trying to emphasise on that point, he brought up the comparison with India.

"During our time, India had a very strong batting line-up than us on paper. Our record as batsmen was not better than theirs. But if one of us made even 30-40 runs, we made it for the team. If an Indian player scored a century, it wouldn't be for the team, he would be playing for himself. That made a difference," the former Pakistan captain said.

"Now our players are scared of losing their place. They think they only have one or two innings to make their mark, so they don't realize what the team needs," he said.

"That is why, if the captain and coach are on the same page, they can give players the sense of security and confidence to play according to the team's needs," Inzamam added.

Topics mentioned in this article

Inzamam-ul-Haq India Cricket Team Pakistan Cricket Team Cricket