LAHORE, Sept 15: Pakistan’s newly-appointed manager Talat Ali Malik who will accompany the cricket team to Champions Trophy in India next month, does not see his new assignment as a big challenge.

Talking to a group of journalists here on Tuesday, Talat said “I have managed the junior team in the 90s so it is not exactly a new challenge for me.”

Talat, a former Test opener, replaced ex-Test cricketer Zaheer Abbas who received severe criticism for his unprofessional conduct during the Oval Test fiasco last month.

Asked whether the lasting impact of the Oval saga on players will cause him any problems, Talat said: “For me the Oval Test is history and I have to do my job according to the mandate given to me by the PCB chairman. Furthermore, I will meet PCB director Saleem Altaf to discuss a few finer points since he had a good experience in India as manager on Pakistan’s last tour there.”

"I fully realise that after the Oval Test incident, I will be closely watched by the press and other critics but I am quite comfortable with it and know exactly what I have to do,” said Talat. “My experiences in man-management as PIA’s country manager in Manchester, as general manager PIA Punjab region and as ICC match-referee are enough to deal with any situation," he said.

Commenting on his rapport with skipper Inzamam-ul-Haq for the forthcoming tour, Talat said: “Inzamam’s job is to bring out 100 per cent from the players and I have to give him all out administrative support and our common mission is only to win the ICC Champions Trophy.”

As far as maintaining discipline within the team is concerned, Talat is confident that it will not be an issue on the India tour.

“I will soon be meeting the captain, vice-captain and all the players to exchange views and to discuss the plan for the tour,” he said and added that they were all mature cricketers who perfectly understood the ethics and codes of the game.

Talat, who headed PCB’s disciplinary committee during the tenure of Majid Khan, made headlines when he imposed a two-year ban on Aamer Sohail for issuing a press statement on match-fixing despite being a playing member of the team. The ban was later reduced to six months.

Talat also fined then Pakistan captain Ramiz Raja for wearing shorts at the team toss in Sri Lanka and also imposed a life ban on junior team pacer Zeeshan Pervez for violating discipline in the West Indies.

On Friday Talat, looking relaxed and confident, said he knew a number of Pakistan players fairly well and had managed Abdul Razzaq and Shoaib Malik during Pakistan junior team’s tour to Australia in the late 90s.

Talat said he had already met the PCB chairman who gave him some useful advice regarding the forthcoming series.

Sounding confident about Pakistan’s chances in Champions Trophy, Talat said the team was hot favourtie for the mega event. “After Australia, I think Pakistan has the the most well-balanced side which is important in one-day cricket,” he said.