LAHORE — Former Pakistan cricket captain Inzamamul Haq has called for patience as he begins his new role as chief selector and says there is no quick fix to solving the side’s problems.
Pakistan rose to No. 2 in the Test rankings last year after series wins in Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and by beating England in the United Arab Emirates in November.
However, it has failed to replicate the success in limited-overs formats recently and started 2016 with defeats in both 50-overs and Twenty20 series in New Zealand.
“It’s the start, I don’t have a magic wand,” Inzamam told reporters. “It will take time, there will be technical things and other problems too which we have to see.
“We have to be patient, don’t expect anything soon.”
Pakistan won two of four matches in the Asia Cup T20 tournament in Bangladesh before exiting the World Twenty20 in India on the back of three group stage defeats.
The results prompted head coach Waqar Younis to resign and saw all-rounder Shahid Afridi lose the T20 captaincy, while the selection committee was also dissolved by the board (PCB).
Inzamam, 46, quit his position as Afghanistan head coach to take up his new role with Pakistan, who won the 50-overs World Cup in 1992 and the T20 version in 2009.
The former batting great guided Afghanistan to the Super 10 stage of the World Twenty20, where it collected a win over eventual champions West Indies. His contract with Afghanistan ran until the end of the year.
Former spinner Tauseef Ahmed, all-rounder Wasim Haider and opener Wajahatullah Wasti round out the selection committee whose first task will be to pick squad for a full tour of England starting July.
He said it was important to build a pool of players and put the effort into helping them develop.
“When you make changes, you face problems, but we will be back on track if we make a pool of players,” he added.
The former right-handed batsman played 378 One-Day Internationals and 120 Tests for Pakistan and also served as the team’s batting consultant for a brief period in 2012.
Pakistan is currently ranked fourth in Tests, eighth in ODIs and seventh in T20s.
Hastings out of IPL
Australian all-rounder John Hastings has been ruled out of the rest of the Indian Premier League with an ankle injury, raising concerns about his fitness for the upcoming tour of the West Indies.
Hastings played two matches for his IPL side Kolkata Knight Riders before flying back home after picking up the injury during a practice session.
“He bowled through a fair bit of pain during the game (last week against the Mumbai Indians),” Simon Katich, Kolkata Knight Riders assistant coach, told reporters late Monday.
Fellow Australian Katich said Hastings flew back to Australia after undergoing scans on his ankle.
Hastings has been named in the Australian one-day squad for the tri-series in West Indies in June.
Kolkata downs Punjab by six wickets
Kolkata Knight Riders defeated Kings XI Punjab by six wickets in their Indian Premier League match in Mohali Tuesday.
Sent into bat, Punjab was restricted to 138 for 8 by Kolkata, which chased down the target of 139 with nearly three overs to spare.
Robin Uthappa scored a quick-fire 28-ball 53, while Gautam Gambhir got to a run-a-ball 34. For Kings XI, Axar Patel and Pardeep Sahu bagged two wickets each.
Brief scores: Kolkata Knight Riders 141 for 4 (Uthappa 53, Gambhir 34; Sahu 2-18) beat Kings XI Punjab 138 for 8 (Marsh 56*; Narine 2-22) by six wickets.
