Former Pakistan captain Inzamam-ul-Haq has said that the India batsmen in his time scored centuries for themselves, rather than for the team, as opposed to the Pakistan batsmen, who he said contributed to the team’s cause despite lower scores.

Speaking to Ramiz Raja on YouTube, Inzamam said that Pakistan teams of the past used to chip in for the team, unlike the current crop of batsmen who fear failure. When asked by Raja if Pakistan tends to fall back on short-term options instead of looking at the big picture, Inzamam said: “For a long time, Pakistan has had the tendency to take things series by series.

“Big players have long-term plans. Imran Khan did not suddenly kick under-performing players out of the team after one series, he used to show faith in them.

“When we played against India, their batting was more powerful than us on paper. Our batting records weren’t as good as theirs. But even if our batsmen scored 30 or 40 runs, they did it for the team. But for India, even if they scored 100 runs, they played for themselves.

“But now, the difference is we are scared of getting out of the team. We don’t realise what the team requirement is. When the captain and coach [are] on the same page, only then they can give players the required confidence.”

Inzamam, who captained Pakistan until his retirement in 2007, served as chief selector from 2016 to 2019. In his 15-year international career, Inzamam played 10 Tests and 67 ODIs against India.