LAHORE, Aug 6: Pakistan captain Inzamamul Haq is in favour of another all-rounder in place of leg-spinner Danish Kaneria for the forthcoming back-to-back competitions in Europe.
Talking to reporters, Inzamam stated that Danish was not needed much in Sri Lanka, so he did not think he could deliver in Europe so an all-rounder in his place would be more useful.
Pakistan play a three-nation tournament in Holland this month, also involving India and Australia before the ICC Champions Trophy in London next month. He said that if Danish was not needed on Asian wickets, there was little chance the bowler would create any problems for the opposition batsmen on seamer friendly European pitches, specially in one-day matches.
Inzamam, said that Imran Nazir was tested in Asia Cup but he could not give required results. However, he believed that Imran was a good player and it was all part of the game.
He admitted that sending Shoaib Malik at third position was criticised, but he considered the all-rounder justified the decision with his performance. Inzamam accepted that he or Yousuf Youhana could bat at third and fourth position to play maximum overs, but added, to give impetus to the innings their current slots were more suitable for the team.
The skipper said that no specific planning was made for the three-nation tournament in Holland. "I will only urge the players to give their maximum", he said. Inzamam, who met the PCB chairman Shaharyar M Khan on Friday said that he had submitted some suggestions to the chairman about the central contract.
"Hopefully it will be announced soon and I think it is very necessary as all cricketing countries have signed such contracts with their players", he said. Inzamam said that for the first year players would be categorised in "A to C" categories, but after that payments would be decided on the basis of performance of a player. "It is not fair that a player gets high fees only due to his seniority as I consider the real thing is performance", he added.