LAHORE: Former Pakistan captain and chief selector Inzamam-ul-Haq said Indian batsmen used to score runs for themselves and not for the team during his playing days.
Inzamam-ul-Haq expressed his views while speaking to erstwhile teammate Ramiz Raja on the latter’s YouTube channel and stressed that Pakistani batsmen did not give priority to individual records over the team back then.
Pakistani players always had the backing of their captain, especially under Imran Khan who never dropped players after a bad series or two which eventually helped cricketers to perform well, Inzamam said.
Ramiz Raja said current Pakistani players possess great natural talent but are sometimes too afraid of failure which leads the team to near-impossible situations.
Inzamam-ul-Haq responded, “The players will never be able to perform to the best of their abilities if they keep on thinking that they will lose their position in the team if they fail to deliver. That is why they don’t realize the team requirement.
“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.
“India had stronger batting line-up on paper than Pakistan during our time. But the 30-40 runs scored by one of our players were for the team unlike Indians whose centuries were even for themselves and did not help their team. That made the difference.”
