Pakistan captain Inzamam-ul-Haq has found a novel method of avoiding pressure during his team's high-profile cricket tour of India keep away from newspapers. "I'm not reading newspapers at all on this tour. This is the best way to avoid pressure on a tough tour like that of India," Inzamam told AFP on Sunday. "You need to avoid all off-field pressure and I do it by keeping myself away from newspapers."
Inzamam said he had been following the advice of his former team-mate Saeed Anwar, a left-handed opening batsman who told the current Pakistani cricketers not to read newspapers on the India tour.
"I succeeded in avoiding extra pressure by not reading newspapers on Pakistan's tour of India in 1999. I'd advise this team to do the same," Anwar told the players before their departure for India last month.
Inzamam said Anwar's tip had been very useful.
"I followed that advice. The only time I asked for newspapers was when my son's pictures appeared last week," said Inzamam, who is leading the first Pakistani team in India for six years.
Inzamam's son Ibtisam-ul-Haq appeared in newspapers here practising with the Pakistani team ahead of the third and final Test, which was the Pakistani captain's 100th match.
Inzamam made the occasion memorable with a superb 184 to become the fifth batsman to score a century in his 100th Test after Englishmen Colin Cowdrey and Alec Stewart, Pakistan's Javed Miandad and West Indian Gordon Greenidge.
"You wake up and read all sorts of news, columns by former players which add to the existing pressure," said Inzamam, whose team is seeking a series-levelling win here after losing the second Test at Calcutta by 195 runs.
Pakistan coach Bob Woolmer said Inzamam always fired the team with his modesty.
"Inzamam fires the team with his modesty and his ability to lead from the front as a batsman," said Woolmer.
"I don't think he is a passive captain, but I do think he needs to be more aggressive with youngsters. His image of nice guy is not good all the time."
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