Islamabad: While the cricket fraternity in Pakistan mourned on Monday the death of coach Bob Woolmer, former players fiercely criticized captain Inzamam-ul-Haq, saying he should have quit sooner from one-day internationals.
''He should have quit before the World Cup, the damage has already been done,'' said outspoken former test fast bowler Sarfraz Nawaz.
Inzamam announced his retirement from limited-overs games on Sunday, hours after coach Woolmer died in Jamaica and one day after Ireland registered one of the biggest upsets in World Cup history by eliminating Pakistan with a three-wicket victory.
Nawaz said the death of Woolmer, a former England test batsman and one of the international game's most respected coaches, would mute anger over Pakistan's loss, which prompted some local cricket fans to burn Inzamam's effigy.
''With the death of Woolmer, the defeat of Pakistan will die down,'' Nawaz said.
But he slammed Inzamam's decision to keep playing Test cricket, if selected, saying the 37-year-old batsman's aging legs would struggle to carry him through five-day matches.
''He is not physically fit enough to play even one-day cricket so how could he play test cricket,'' Nawaz said. ''(But) it's our history that players do not retire themselves, they were always shown the door.''
Intikhab Alam, who coached Pakistan to World Cup triumph in 1992, supported Nawaz's views.
''Inzamam should have thought about quitting long ago,'' Alam said.
''He either hits a boundary or runs a single in one-day cricket which shows that age is fast catching in on him,'' he said.
Inzamam needs another 22 runs to surpass Pakistan's highest test scorer, Javed Miandad (8,832), in Test matches with 8,813 runs from 119 test matches.