Former Pakistan captain Inzamam-ul-Haq has supported the appointment of Australian Jeff Lawson as the national cricket team's coach.
KARACHI: Former Pakistan captain Inzamam-ul-Haq has supported the appointment of Australian Jeff Lawson as the national cricket team's coach.
Inzamam said Pakistan had produced some great players, but they lacked in man management skills.
"Javed Miandad is one of the best teachers of the game and I have learnt a lot about the game and batting from him. But to be a successful coach you must also be a good manager and understand the psyche of every player differently and treat them accordingly," Inzamam said in an interview on Tuesday.
PCB on Monday named Lawson as the new Pakistan coach, preferring him over his compatriots Dav Whatmore and Richard Done.
The former Australian pacer will reach Pakistan on August 15 to take up his two-year coaching assignment. He would be the third foreigner to coach the team after Richard Pybus and Bob Woolmer.
Inzamam, who retired from one-day internationals and relinquished captaincy during the World Cup after Pakistan's shock defeat to Ireland in March, felt that Lawson was a good choice.
"Foreign coaches generally have good man management skills and we had a good experience of this with the late Bob Woolmer.
"I don't know Lawson, but the players have spoken well of him and they think he has a different but more aggressive style of coaching which suits the way we play our cricket," he said.
Inzamam also said he was not concerned at not being given the new central contracts or even a retainer announced by the board on Tuesday.
"The thing is I want to play Test cricket because I feel I still have cricket left in me. But my philosophy is simple, if God and fate has ordained me to play Test cricket no one can stop me from doing that. If it is no longer in my fate no matter what happens I will not play again," he said.
Captain Shoaib Malik also backed Lawson as the new coach, saying the players were impressed with his ideas and concept about the game.
"We liked his positive approach and the stress on getting on with the game. He also appeared to be a good manager of the players," he said.
But Malik denied the players had spoken ill of Dav Whatmore, saying they had given their opinion about all three candidates in a positive manner.
"The final decision was with the board and it had nothing to do with players," he said.
Malik said it was a good idea to have a bowler as a coach for the first time. "I want to see how the players react to working with a bowler coach. Bowling has been our strength and if Lawson can improve their performances it will mean success for us," he said.
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