Inzamam blames one-dayers for injury problems

KARACHI, June 17 (Reuters) Pakistan captain Inzamam-ul-Haq blames the hectic international schedule for the injury problems experienced by all test-playing nations.

Pakistan have lost two of their leading pace bowlers, Shoaib Akhtar and Rana Naved, to injuries before their tour of England starting this month.

''It is not just Pakistan that has to contend with injuries to its players. You look at the other teams and it is the same,'' Inzamam told Reuters today.

''I think the number of one-day internationals being played these days is a key reason for players, especially the bowlers struggling with their fitness,'' he said.

England, who play Pakistan in four tests and five one-dayers, have had to cope with injuries to their captain Michael Vaughan, all-rounder Andrew Flintoff and bowlers Simon Jones and Ashely Giles.

Inzamam said at the last captains' meeting held in Sydney by the International Cricket Council (ICC) the unanimous opinion was that the number of one-dayers needed to be limited.

''Playing the tests is not an issue with players because you get time to rest between games and recover from niggling fitness problems,'' he said. ''It is the one-dayers that put strain on us.'' ''You have to travel a lot between one-day matches and players get little time to recoup and start afresh. Eventually it gets a bit cumbersome.'' Inzamam, 36, has struggled with a back problem during a career featuring 109 tests and 361 one-day internationals.

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