Inzamam calls for experienced leadership

Inzamam-ul-Haq, the former Pakistan captain, believes the current team will perform better with a more experienced captain or coach at the helm. Pakistan have failed to win a Test - they have played six - under the pairing of Shoaib Malik and Geoff Lawson, and besides reaching the final of the ICC World Twenty20 in 2007, their only significant limited-overs win was in the Kitply Cup, which involved India and Bangladesh.

"You shouldn't blame anybody for the bad result - neither the coach nor the captain," Inzamam told DNA. "The thing is that they are both inexperienced. The board should see that if the captain is new, the coach should be an experienced one or the other way round. Shoaib Malik and Geoff Lawson are both new to the system. Lawson hasn't coached at the bigger stage before this while Malik was made the captain without any prior experience."

While expressing his confidence in the team, Inzamam felt the weak leadership in the PCB was also hurting the team's chances. "I don't think Pakistan are a bad outfit," he said. "They are a balanced outfit but they are, at the moment, not being guided properly by the administration. At the moment there is no strong management in Pakistan cricket and that, I think, is important.

"They [the players] are all of same age-group and they can make a superb side in the near future. It needs some planning and efficient management from the Pakistan Cricket Board."

Inzamam said an experienced player should be made captain. "They [PCB] should diminish the communication gap between the players and the board and they should give the captain's mantle to someone who is senior and experienced. If they religiously do these things, they will get the desired result."

Pakistan recently lost the T20 Canada final against Sri Lanka. They haven't played a Test this year and have only hosted two five-ODI series against Zimbabwe and Bangladesh besides the Asia Cup in June-July. Security concerns resulted in the postponement of Australia's visit and the Champions Trophy.