November 04, 2007	Sunday	Shawwal 22, 1428

NEW DELHI, Nov 3: Pakistan’s former skipper Inzamam-ul-Haq said on Saturday that the difficulty of playing as non-captain and with a new generation of players prompted his international retirement.

Inzamam, 37, announced his retirement after playing a Test match against South Africa last month and was now embarking on a career as a commentator as well as participating in an upcoming Indian Twenty20 league.

“Coming back to the dressing room as a player after leading the team for a long time can be pretty difficult,” said Inzamam, who will be hosting a TV show during the upcoming India-Pakistan series that begins on Monday.

“It depends on how much cricket you’re eager to play after your captaincy days are over.

“I’d been playing for a long time and the team now featured a new generation of players. I had a gap of more than 10 years with some of the players.”

Pakistan’s current captain Shoaib Malik is 12 years younger that Inzamam, who had been a regular member of the Pakistan team for almost eight years when Malik played his first international in 1999.

“I surely miss being part of the Pakistan team, but every player has to undergo this experience at one stage,” said Inzamam, who is to feature in the breakaway Twenty20 Indian Cricket League (ICL) that will begin later this month.

Inzamam’s name has featured in the list of the breakaway ICL and the cricket board-promoted Indian Premier League (IPL).

“I’d like to play in both these Twenty20 leagues,” said Inzamam, but the Indian cricket board has already announced that it would bar anyone featuring in the breakaway ICL.

The former Pakistan captain said he had not brought his cricket gear when coming to India for the television assignment.

“I’ll make a quick visit to Pakistan and bring my gear ahead of the Indian Cricket League,” said Inzamam, who is expected to be named captain of one among the six teams competing in the inaugural event.

Inzamam said the Malik-led Pakistan team currently touring India was less experienced than India, but it should not be termed weak.

“In 2005, the team I brought to India was termed the weakest Pakistan team to visit India, but we drew the Test series and won the One-day Internationals,” said Inzamam.

Inzamam said he was shocked over India’s decision to drop former captain Rahul Dravid for the first two One-day Internationals against the visitors.

“Dravid is a great player and his axing was baffling. He brings in a lot of experience with him and that’s something you badly need to win close matches. I think Pakistan will benefit from his absence,” he said.

Inzamam also said seniors such as Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar and Saurav Ganguly still had a lot to offer to Indian cricket.

“It’s up to the individual to decide when he wants to quit, but I don’t think Sachin, Saurav or Dravid are too old to continue. They still have a lot of cricket left in them,” he said.

Meanwhile, Inzamam, who was at the centre of the Oval Test controversy last year, accused match officials of being harsh on teams from the subcontinent.

Inzamam was skipper when Pakistan protested over ball-tampering charges during the Oval match against England in August last year.

Pakistan refused to take the field after tea on the fourth day, after which the Test was awarded to England on forfeit. Inzamam was later cleared of tampering charges but was handed a ban of four One-day Internationals.

“You have a number of cases where it’s evident that they have come down harshly on players from the subcontinent, while others go scot-free,” said Inzamam.

“Now that I have retired and I no longer come under the purview of the International Cricket Council, I can say that be it ball-tampering or slow over rates, officials are a little harsh towards subcontinental teams.

“Match referees do not give any favours to our teams.”

Inzamam, with 8830 runs in 120 Tests and 11,739 one-day runs, also defended his decision to take his team off the field in the Oval Test.

“We were handed a five-run penalty but going by the book the umpires should have informed me beforehand. But I was not told of the decision and we decided to show our protest by leaving the ground,” said Inzamam.

“It was my decision, but I consulted my team-mates beforehand. They were unanimous about it and there was no influence from any other quarters.”—Agencies