BOMBAY, 4 March 2005 — Parrying oft-repeated criticism that he was too soft to make a dynamic leader, Pakistani captain Inzamam ul-Haq suddenly decided to talk tough, as soon as he set foot on Indian soil. Much to the surprise of the media persons and television viewers, he sounded more sanguine than ever before, as he said that he and his team had come here to win and that the ultimate pressure would be on the hosts and not on his own boys.
He first made light of the absence of tearaway fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar and then spoke highly of the commitment of the new faces in his team. He generously used terms such as “josh,” “junoon,” and “jazba.” His entire demeanor and body language unmasked a new Inzy. If he were true to his words, the gentle giant would certainly mean business on the field of play, even as he will be aware of spreading all the goodwill he has brought with him from Pakistan.
On a more practical note, it will indeed be a daunting task for him to dovetail the talent of so many first-timers to India in his team to present a match-winning combination. There are no apparent worries for him from the batting of his side. He will have to make the most of what appears to be an inexperienced bowling attack.
Pakistan have always boasted one of the finest pace attacks in the world and there have been occasions in the past when they had a problem with whom of the whole array of fast bowlers to leave out. At present, however, the team have just three medium-pacers in Mohammed Sami, Rana Naved-ul-Hasan and new-comer Mohammad Khalil, who is a left-arm seamer. These three will be supported by all-rounder Razzaq. However, in the spin department, they have three who can bolster the attack and prove quite effective on slow Indian pitches, which normally favor the spinners.
The cause of Inzy’s overall new-found confidence could be that he is free of being strapped with the unnecessary responsibility of babysitting a rebel like Shoaib Akhtar. There is absolutely no doubt about the intrinsic value of Akhtar as a world-class bowler who, in just one dream burst of pace, can change the whole complexion of the game. But he is a terribly moody customer and has had a track record of either breaking down in the middle of a match or just walking off to the precints of the boundary line when he is proving unsuccessful.
On the recent tour of Australia, he was once again problematic and in the second part of the series, the team was better off without him. This team, made up of several youngsters, has to have discipline at all times and not have it breached. Inzy will thus be able to concentrate so much harder on his dual responsibility of being the side’s captain and leading batsman.
On the other hand, if anything, it will be the Indian team that might, perhaps, be a trifle predictable and somewhat complacent. That is because there is little change that has taken place since the team last played Pakistan. The only change is that left-handed, attacking opener, Gautam Gambhir has come in place of the dreary Akash Chopra. The rest of the side is the same that had toured Pakistan exactly at the same time last year.
Behind all the goodwill that the Indo-Pak series promotes these days, one is going to watch a highly intense series because, whatever some of the critics might say, the two teams are closely matched. One expects to say excellent cricket and a combat worth all the hype attendant on it.
