Former Pakistan captain Inzamam-ul Haq is pinning his hopes on newly appointed Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gillani to save the country's cricket from destruction.
KARACHI: Former Pakistan captain Inzamam-ul Haq is pinning his hopes on newly appointed Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gillani to save the country's cricket from destruction.
"I know at the moment his priorities will be different as he has more urgent matters to deal with. But I hope that in time he will also turn his attention to the most popular sport in the country and save it from destruction," Inzamam said from India.
Both Inzamam and Gillani belong to Pakistan's central city of Multan.
Inzamam, who played in 120 Tests and 378 one-day internationals before retiring last year, said although Gillani was not a 'cricket crazy', he was interested in the game.
"He is not entirely crazy about cricket but has interest in it and one can discuss the game with him. I hope he will take steps for the betterment of cricket," he said.
Inzamam, who is presently captaining the Lahore Badshah's team in the Indian Cricket League, said the appointment of a notable personality from Multan as PM was a honour for the historical city.
"It makes me feel proud to be from Multan and I know that Gillani sahib is a forward looking and positive person. I am hopeful his appointment as Prime Minister will also lead to improved changes in the Pakistan cricket set-up," Inzamam said.
"I am confident we will also see positive changes in the political and national scenario of the country," he added.
Inzamam recalled the times when Gillani had attended his wedding reception and also visited his home.
With the change of government, experts believe there are going to be changes in the cricket set-up which have been run on ad-hoc basis since 1999 with the President of the country in his role of chief patron of the Board appointing the chairman directly.
The last three Chairmen of the Cricket Board have been appointed directly by President Pervez Musharraf and generally despite huge spendings Pakistan team has failed to achieve consistently good results or win any big tournament.
Incumbent Chairman Nasim Ashraf and his team have come in for strong criticism in recent days with their dissenters sensing this is the right time to start making noises.
Sources say, Inzamam himself is very keen on working as Director of the National Cricket Academy in Lahore.
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