Former Pakistan captain Inzamam ul Haq tells PakPassion.net that whilst the tour of Australia has raised many concerns with regards to Pakistani cricket, the tour should not be used as a benchmark for the future.

By: Saj Sadiq

07 March, 2010

Former Pakistan captain Inzamam ul Haq feels that whilst the tour of Australia has raised many concerns with regards to Pakistani cricket, the tour should not be used as a benchmark for the future.

"What has happened in Australia is there before us, the results are there and the individual performances can be seen before our eyes. However, I believe that the Pakistan Cricket Board and players should not dwell on the negatives of this tour and instead build for the future. The tour is over, it's done and dusted, it's finished with, don't keep on thinking about the tour of Australia and looking at what went wrong. If they keep on thinking about this tour, then it can only cause more problems for cricket in Pakistan".

40 year old Inzamam who was the Pakistani batting mainstay for a large part of his illustrious 16 year career is of the opinion that Pakistan can bounce back from their recent problems in the Twenty/20 World Cup due to be held in the Caribbean in May and June and then the subsequent tour of England, where Pakistan will come up against the hosts and Australia.

"Pakistan are a formiddable Twenty over team and they will be amongst the favourites for this tournament. They have a fine array of strokemakers and wicket taking bowlers and yes I think they can retain the trophy. The summer tour of England is an ideal opportunity for the team to bounce back in test cricket and play some good cricket against England and Australia. I am confident we will see some good performances in England from Pakistan" added Inzamam.

Inzamam who first came to the attention of the cricketing world as a 21 year old in the 1992 World Cup in Australia and New Zealand urged the selectors to choose the right combination of players for the squad in England.

"The combination for the tour of England has to be the right one. I would like to see some youngsters given an opportunity, but the selectors need to be careful that they don't discard experienced players and travel to England with an inexperienced group of players".

With regards to his own future and whether the role of batting consultant would interest him, Inzamam stated "I don't really get much chance these days to watch cricket as I am so busy with my other committments. I haven't even been able to watch any of the action in the ongoing RBS Twenty/20 Competition".