ISLAMABAD, June 28: Former captain Inzamam-ul-Haq insists that promising young players should be backed and given proper chance in order to improve Pakistan team batting which has failed miserably on several occasions in the recent past including the ICC Champions Trophy.

Talking to a TV channel, Inzamam said with the 2015 World Cup not too far away, the selectors must start making tough calls quickly if they want Pakistan to avoid a the eight-nation Champions Trophy debacle — where Pakistan ended at the last spot — in future.

“Talented young players like Asad Shafiq and Umar Amin should be given full confidence and backing by coach and captain like I received from my skipper Imran Khan at the 1992 World Cup, and the youngsters will repay the faith shown in them,” Inzamam, who played 120 Tests and 378 ODIs during his illustrious career, said.

He said that his belief before the Champions Trophy was that if the Pakistan batsmen could give the bowlers some half-decent scores of 220 or more, the bowlers would do the rest. “But unfortunately the batting proved an absolute disappointment throughout the tournament.

“During the Champions Trophy most of our batsmen seemed to suffer a significant lack of confidence, which is very worrying and the team management must look into it to avoid such flaws in future,” Inzamam underlined.

The former heavyweight batsman said it was a huge disappointment and at times difficult to watch as the performances did not do justice to the players representing Pakistan at a high-profile international competition like the Champions Trophy.

Commenting on the reaction to the Pakistan team’s dismal performance in the Champions Trophy, Inzamam said it was not the time for blame game. “There is a collective responsibility and all stakeholders need to look at what they could have done differently and learn from the experience. Pointing the finger of blame will not help Pakistan cricket,” he said.—APP