Watch: Inzamam-ul-Haq calls Indian batsmen selfish; says they scored 100s for themselves

Pakistan's chief selector Inzamam-ul-Haq has said Indian batsmen played for themselves while Pakistani players played for the team. The former captain said Indian batsmen scored 100s for themselves while Pakistani batsmen even if they scored 30 or 40, it was for the team

Bengaluru: Former Pakistan captain Inzamam-ul-Haq has made a controversial statement saying Indian cricketers played for themselves and not for the team at the time when he was playing.

The 50-year-old Inzamam, who played 120 Tests, 378 ODIs and one T20I, told former Pakistan skipper Ramiz Raja that Indian batsmen scored hundreds for themselves while Pakistani players even if they contributed 30 or 40 runs it was for the team.

To a query whether Pakistan players were not aggressive while playing now, Inzamam told on Raja’s YouTube channel, “Big players think long term. Captain Imran Khan never used to drop players based on a bad performance in one series.”

He continued, “During our playing days, on paper, the Indian team was very strong in batting. Compared to them, our batmen’s records were not great. But if any of our batsmen had scored 30 or 40 runs, they did it for the team. If some Indian batsman scored a 100, it was not for the team, it was for himself. This has made a lot of difference.

“You should never fear of getting dropped from the team. You never realise what is the requirement for the team. Some (Pakistan) players think ‘let us be safe first’. If the players get confidence from the captain and coach, then team will start winning.”

Inzamam is now the chief selector. He was one of the best batsmen during his time. He played international cricket between 1992 and 2007. He was part of Pakistan’s World Cup winning team in 1992. Inzamam scored over 20,000 runs in international cricket.