Inzamam-ul-Haq has strongly denied accusations that he was puttingplayers in the team under pressure to pray
Osman Samiuddin24-Oct-2006
A few Pakistan players offer early morning prayers © AFP
Inzamam-ul-Haq, the Pakistan captain, has strongly denied accusations that he was puttingplayers in the team under pressure to pray and that the selection processwas linked to religion in any way as the debate over the roleof Islam in the Pakistan team gathers steam.Talking to BBC’s Urdu Service, Inzamam said, “I have never forced anyoneto offer prayers in the team or to keep a beard. There are only threeplayers in the team who went to England who have a beard: Shahid Afridi,Mohammad Yousuf and myself. I’ve never linked team selection to offeringprayers and reports suggesting otherwise are all wrong.”And in what appears to be a thinly-veiled response to new PCB chairman DrNasim Ashraf’s recent comments to a TV channel, where he asked the team tofind “a balance” between Islam and cricket and to avoid overtly publicdisplays of religiosity, Inzamam said, “All those talking about ourreligious activities have never offered prayers and nor do they have anylink to Islam.”Last week Ashraf had told CNBC Pakistan that, “There is no doubt their religiousfaith is a motivating factor in the team. It binds them together. Butthere should be balance between religion and cricket.”The chairman held a meeting with Inzamam to discuss the issue, in which hewas clearly told, according to Ashraf, “that there should be no pressureon players who don’t pray regularly or any compulsion on them to do it. Hehas assured me there is no pressure on anyone to do anything they don’twant to do.” A board source asserted the meeting’s tone was harsher.Ashraf’s comments also attracted the ire of the MMA (Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal), a politicalconglomerate of religious parties who sit in government in the North West Frontier Province (NWFP) and Balochistan. In a statement, religious leaders strongly condemned the chairman’s remarks as damaging to the cricket team and the country’s ideology.Disquiet has been expressed privately by board officials since the end ofthe tour to England over the growing role of religion within the team. Oneofficial said recently, “Inzamam is not leading a team, he is leading a (missionaries).” And Cricinfo has learnt from sourcesclose to the team that during the England tour players were often uplate at night to offer (special prayers) and waking upearly in the morning to offer prayers before going back to sleep, thuspossibly hampering preparations for matches.But of more concern, as evident in the chairman’s comments, is that unduepressure is being put on younger players to offer prayers and adherediligently to an Islamic code, failing which their place in the team maybe affected. Though not explicit, players who didn’t attend prayers wouldbe asked later why they didn’t, thus leading some to make sure theyattended.Religion within the team has been a talking point since last year and inparticular since the conversion of Mohammad Yousuf to Islam. It has been widely attributed by many, including coach Bob Woolmer, as bringing atraditionally fractious team closer together and enhancing performances onthe field, a point borne out by Pakistan’s success over the last year.