LAHORE, June 19: Cricket legend Imran Khan has said that Pakistan need to improve their batting with a place still vacant for Inzamam-ul-Haq.

Replying to a question after visiting Gaddafi Stadium on Thursday, the former Pakistan captain said that the team would face pressure in the batting department and therefore, immediately needed a seasoned batsman like Inzamam.

Imran admitted that although Inzamam had been out of form but still there was a room for him in the team because he was a class act.

Welcoming the introduction of inter-regional cricket in the domestic structure, Imran said that it augurs well and should continue for ever. He said that there  was no concept of departmental cricket around the world and added that the departments had damaged the country’s cricket.

When  asked that there was a rival argument in favour of  the departmental cricket and Imran misunderstood problems of needy cricketers, he said that those persons had vested interest.  They had been cementing their jobs.

“If  you want to produce Test calibre cricketers you have  to promote  the cricket at regional level. And if you want  to  only create jobs for needy cricketers and function like an  employment exchange so promote the departmental cricket,” Imran replied.

He also alleged that betting on the cricket matches was  also being  encouraged by the departmental teams which had ruined  the game.

Imran  claimed  that the regional cricket  would  prove  crowd- puller which the departmental cricket had failed to do and believed that a sound domestic cricket structure was necessary to polish the talented player who were available in the country.

He  said that many talented cricketers had been wasted due  to bad domestic structure.

For example he said that Azhar Mahmood had been spoiled by the domestic  cricket  but now after playing in rthe English county his talent was emerging.

Earlier while giving a lecture to students of the clinic, Imran said that the cricket was the game of the brave persons.

“Those  batsmen who fear to face any fast bowler  and  those bowlers  who  also avoid to face any particular batsman  can  not become  a world class cricketer. Fight till the last moment  and don’t accept defeat at any cost. After losing to  any  side come again with  same  fighting  spirit  without  taking   any pressure,” Imran advised the students.

Meanwhile, Imran has  said that the rules regarding the ball tampering and chucking  adopted by the International Cricket Council (ICC) need rectification.

  He said that if followed according to the interpretation of the  ICC rules regarding the ball tampering, all bowlers were involved  in it.

He  remarked that according to rule, all acts of the bowler  except of giving shine to the ball, fell in the ball tampering.

“If a bowler cut a damaged piece of leather from the ball or  a string from the seam the act falls in the ball tampering which is wrong,” Imran elaborated.

The  former paceman said that he wrote in his book  that  he was also  involved in the ball tampering if accepted this interpretation of the rule.

Imran said that he also won his case against former England all-rounder Ian  Botham  about ball tampering.