Inzamam appeals for professional backup staff

Inzamam-ul-Haq has planned to request the Pakistan Cricket Board to employ a bowling coach, among other support staff. The News reported that he would make the demands during the PCB's next meeting, on June 4.

Inzamam, who lead Pakistan during the series against India, saw his bowlers break down during the series, and he believed the injuries cost the team dearly. He was insistent that a professional team back up would prevent similar problems in the future, and said that professionals should be employed soon, so the team was ready for the Asia Cup, which begins in July.

"Injuries have been a major problem for us in the past, and hit us badly in the series against India. We need to overcome this problem," Inzamam said. "We are planning to have a 22-day training camp, ideally from June 20. And I want the board to provide us with a bowling coach, a qualified physiotherapist and a trainer who can be with us in the camp and work with the players."

He also made clear his preference of the support staff's age, and said that it didn't matter where they came from. "I don't care if the physio and trainer are from Pakistan. I am not asking specifically for foreigners. What I want is they are young and well-versed with the modern requirements of the sport. Look at all the other teams today. They all have young qualified physios and trainers attached with them. Cricket is now a science."

During the series against India, it was pointed out that the Indian team had an efficient support staff, and suggestions were made that Pakistan were unprofessional in their approach to the game. And when Shoaib Akhtar and Mohammad Sami failed to swing the ball and had problems with no-balls, the calls for a bowling coach became vociferous. It was a move that Javed Miandad first disagreed with, before grudgingly accepting. Inzamam, on the other hand, was all for it. "I would like someone like Daryl Foster helping out the players. I have also spoken to Waqar Younis and Wasim Akram and they have said if the board offers them a proper assignment they will do it. But for the time being I have also requested them to come and work with the bowlers in the training camp for 22 days."

"I am asking for a bowling coach and have asked Waqar and Wasim to come and help out Sami, Shoaib, Shabbir and the other bowlers ... [and help them regain their] ability to swing the ball."

With the Asia Cup barely two months away, Inzamam underscored the importance of doing well in the tournament, and said that the confidence the team took away from there could be used for the Champions Trophy in England. "I think we badly need to do well in the Asia Cup, in fact win it. Because we need to get our own confidence back but also restore the confidence of the nation. We have to perform much better in the Asia Cup because you have the world's top two teams, India and Sri Lanka, competing in it."