Inzamam praised for captaincy in India

Inzamam-ul-Haq has said that the challenges faced by Pakistan on their tour of India helped the team and his captaincy develop, and added that humility would help them succeed again. His progress was also noted by Imran Khan, among a number of ex-cricketers, who reiterated that Inzamam's batting in the series was on a par with any other player in the world.

"I would only say this tour helped me tremendously. I have gained what I might not have learnt in 50 Tests as captain," Inzamam said to the Nation in Pakistan, where Pervez Musharraf, the president, had announced a Rs5million bonus for the team. "We have to keep our feet on ground, stay humble and collect all praise, well-wishes and prayers because these will help us in future."

Inzamam had spoken of the tour's gruelling nature towards its end, and now said that finally he and his team could relax. "I admit that after nearly three months, I slept tension-free. It has been an extremely tough and tension-filled series and only those involved in it can feel those pressures. My boys have gone through tough times and now they richly deserve praise, rewards and appreciations because they have earned it through a dedicated and committed performance."

His captaincy was a point of discussion, but a more positive discussion than two months earlier, when Imran expressed dismay at Inzamam's leadership in Australia. "I had said that he did not lead from the front in Australia. But in India he looked more involved and captaincy seemed to have matured and improved him as a batsman as well," Imran said to AFP. "For me the high point of the series was Inzamam's captaincy from the front and Sourav Ganguly's failure to do the same for India."

In his column, Ravi Shastri also spoke glowingly of Inzamam. "After losing the first two games, they [Pakistan] played above their potential, and for this due compliments must be given to their inspirational captain Inzamam, whom I called a `maha smooth cheez' [a smooth guy] at the presentation ceremony. As captain, batsman and ambassador for his country, Inzy was just superb."