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KARACHI: Rejecting criticism against him as personal vendetta and expressing the desire to accept positive criticism, Pakistan coach Intikhab on Saturday insisted growing age is no hurdle in his coaching job, saying he is fully involved in the team activities.
‘Criticism doesn’t bother me but when people come up with personal agendas to malign me, I feel they are jealous,’ Intikhab said in an interview here on his arrival from Lahore to supervise the second phase of Pakistan team’s training camp ahead of the ICC Champions Trophy in South Africa.
‘Age has nothing to do with coaching. I am extremely fit and fully involved in all the activities of the team,’ he said. ‘Frankly speaking, I am not bothered by these petty things.’
‘My performance speaks for itself. I helped Pakistan win the World Twenty20 title in England within eight months after taking charge of the team,’ he maintained.
‘I was also the part of Imran Khan’s Pakistan squad that won the 1992 World Cup,’ he recalled.
It may be noted that some former Test cricketers and recently former PCB chairman Tauqir Zia said Intikhab is too old for Pakistan team’s job and wanted Javed Miandad to take over.
‘Look at the world. All the top coaches in different sports are in their seventies. Age is not an issue. It’s a personal vendetta and jealousy,’ he observed.
Commenting on the performance of his batsmen in the Champions Trophy which is the team’s grey area, he said shot selection by experienced Pakistani batsmen is causing trouble.
‘We are focusing on batting problem and Miandad has joined me as the batting consultant. We are having regular sessions with the players to discuss their batting issues,’ the coach stated.
However, he said Pakistan have a balanced combination in batting and bowling departments, adding that they are working strongly on fielding and fitness which is very important for any match.
He said Pakistan is enjoying the services of two world-class spinners – Saeed Ajmal and Shahid Afridi.
‘Our pace department has been strengthened with the return of Mohammad Asif. With Umar Gul, Mohammad Aamir, Rao Iftikhar and Rana Naved-ul-Hasan in the line, it gives Pakistan a very formidable pace attack.’
Elaborating on the training plan, he said training session starts at 6.30pm with 45-minute warm-up activities followed by a football session.
Intikhab pointed out that practice session for batting and bowling and net sessions are conducted between 9pm to 11pm after Iftar/dinner daily.
He said after the five-day training which would conclude on Sept 16, Pakistan team will fly to Johannesburg on Sept 17 morning and play their first warm-up match against Sri Lanka on Sept 18 at Benoni.—APPLink...