Make Afridi Pakistan's ODI captain: Inzamam

Lahore:

Former skipper Inzamam-ul-Haq has backed all-rounder Shahid Afridi to be appointed as captain of the Pakistan one-day squad while insisting that Mohammad Yousuf should be given more time at the helm in Test cricket.

Inzamam said while the performance of the team in Australia was indeed disappointing but the board needed to plan ahead.

"I think the board should not act hastily despite our Test series loss. I think Yousuf must be given more time as captain," he said.

"I know Yousuf well and he has a great cricket brain and he is well respected. And it is unfair to expect any captain to start producing results in two or three series. Every captain needs time to settle down and get results," he said.

Inzamam, who retired in 2007, said that Yousuf must also be given a fair chance to prove his worth.

"The fact is that after these tough tours to New Zealand and Australia, I am sure this team will perform much better against other teams," he added.

The former captain, however, felt that it would be a good move for the board to appoint Shahid Afridi as the One-day captain.

"I have seen him (Afridi) lead in domestic cricket plus he has done a good job as Twenty20 captain. He is a naturally aggressive and a good leader of men I am sure he can turnaround the team in one-day and T20 cricket," he said.

Inzamam said that it would not be a bad idea for Pakistan to have separate captains in Test and one-day cricket as it was apparent that the selectors needed to introduce more experience in the Test team.

"It would be a good idea if like other teams we first blood young players in one-dayers and allow them to adjust to international cricket and then give them chances in Test matches," he said.

Inzamam also blamed a lack of communication between the captain, coach, selectors and the board for the poor results in Australia.

"It is imperative that the captain and chief selector must be thinking on same wavelength because I don't think the board should have any role to play in selection matters," he said.

Inzamam said the board had also taken some poor decisions in recent times as far as the team and management was concerned.

"We have three coaches with the team but with due respect all of them are bowlers and the team urgently requires a batting and fielding coach. I think the board should not waste anymore time in bringing in professional batting and fielding coaches," he added.