Inzamam's conscience clear ahead of Judgement day
Amid his fraught preparations for the hearings, Inzamam-ul-Haq talks to the Guardian about life, religion and Shoaib Akhtar.
Sriram Veera
25-Feb-2013
Amid his fraught preparations for the hearings, Inzamam-ul-Haq talks to the Guardian about life, religion and Shoaib Akhtar.
Inzamam and a majority of the Pakistan team are the most visible adherents of the Tablighi Jama'at, a south Asian Islamic movement related to the austere and uncompromising Deobandi sect. Its latest recruit is the batsman Mohammad Yousuf, formerly Yousuf Youhana, who converted from Christianity. Yousuf now regularly leads the team in prayer.
"Over the past four years, there has been a change in the Pakistan team," Inzamam says. "If you look at the team, its entire reputation has changed. In the past, before my captaincy, we used to be routinely accused of match-fixing and other scandals. Now, all the boys pray together, collectively, five times a day. There is greater unity in the team. And we are widely respected as a team with integrity."
Sriram Veera is a former staff writer at ESPNcricinfo