JEDDAH, 4 November 2003 — Imran Khan, one of the greatest-ever all-rounders and a former cricket captain of Pakistan, feels the game can play a role in bringing India and Pakistan together.

Imran, who led Pakistan to its World Cup title triumph in 1992, is here to perform Umrah and spoke to Arab News in an exclusive interview.

“When (Pakistan and India) are talking about peace then cricket can play a part in getting them together,” he said. “Cricket can play a part in strengthening the ties if the countries are moving toward peace. If not, then cricket can drive a further wedge between the two. The cricket field becomes a mini battlefield. In the present circumstances when attempts are afoot to improve relations, it’s a good move to have cricketing ties.”

Imran was all praise for Pakistan’s recent series win against South Africa. “I always thought Pakistan should beat South Africa at home because there are very few teams that have beaten us in Pakistan. For 20 years I can hardly remember any team that has beaten us on our pitches because the conditions suited us. And the conditions were really not suitable to South African bowling. So I thought Pakistan were favorites and should have won and they did well to win it. But the real test for the Pakistan team will be playing outside Pakistan or playing against India, who have similar conditions. The Pakistan-India series will be an exciting one,” Imran said.

When asked how the two teams compared he said: “Pakistan’s bowling is much better than India’s but Indian batting looks better than Pakistan’s. So I feel it should be a good series.”

He said the induction of new players like Taufeeq Umar and Imran Farhat into the Pakistan team was a good sign. “Taufeeq Umar is a fine player. I don’t know why he didn’t play more during the World Cup. But I know he is the one player who impressed me most. Danish Kaneria is an improved player and has done better this year. He wasn’t that good before.” He sees Pakistan’s strength in its pace bowling. “Shoaib Akhtar and Mohamed Sami, and also new find Shabbir. It’s a good pace attack,” he added.

But he does not think the Pakistan team is regaining its old form just yet to become a big winning unit. “It’s too early to say that. The test of the Pakistan team — how good it is — will be outside Pakistan. Inside Pakistan we have always done well. So it’s not a gauge that we are going up or down. And certainly we are going down if we lose in Pakistan. Only when you play outside and win, then you can say how good Pakistan is,” he explained.

Disciplining players is a relatively new phenomenon in international cricket. The recent suspensions of Shoaib Akhtar and Rashid Latif are examples, and there has been criticism of bias against Indian and Pakistani players. Imran agrees.

“There is a problem of consistency now. One umpire has one set of standards. Another umpire has another set of standards. They have got to standardize the discipline proceedings. You can’t have certain players getting away with murder and others being punished for the slightest breach,” he said

He also feels that the International Cricket Council should be more actively involved in the affairs of the game. “Previously the ICC did not play its role. There was ball tampering and there was hardly anything done by the ICC. There were cases of illegal deliveries but nothing happened. The ICC has to be more proactive and sort out when disputes happen in cricket,” he said.

Imran is also in favor of wider use of technology to help umpires make the correct decisions. “I think all decisions should be done through technology; it will improve the game manifold. It will be the best thing for cricket, especially leg before and caught behind decisions. One mistake can change the course of the game,” he said.

He also does not agree that slowing down the game will affect it adversely. “It is much better to wait for the extra time rather than have a situation where the umpire gives a wrong decision that can completely change the course of the game. I don’t agree with people who say that umpires will become redundant. The umpire is there to improve the game. The game is not made for the umpire — it’s the umpire who is made for the game. With technology, the game can be improved and made fairer, and decision-making can be more accurate.

“Each time I see an umpire making one or two mistakes, and mistakes whose consequences you don’t know. A top player may be given out when he is not out or not out when he is out. That can totally change the course of a game,” he said.