Lahore, Jan. 26 : The coach of the Pakistan cricket team, Intikhab Alam has revealed that he is a man on a mission, and his main objective is to get players to talk and to support each other.

''People have the wrong perception about coaching. My job is to lighten the load off their (players) shoulders so they can leave all the baggage behind before they step on the field," the Dawn quoted Alam as saying.

Alam sees his role as that of motivator and not someone who tells a player how to grip a bat.

In his view, a player may not be performing for ten different reasons, but he adds that discipline is the key and a lack of it, pulls a team down.

`To fix this, a team does not necessarily need specialist coaches, just an extended run and unity," claims Alam.

"People have criticized the domestic scene so much, that the departments, which I believe are the only feasible option here, have stopped taking risks and investing in their sport programmes," says Alam.

`This is the same structure that produced so many stars, they need to be encouraged. There is no doubt that the domestic game needs professionalism and if departments can start generating revenue through sport, things will naturally start to happen," he says, adding in conclusion that the real key to energizing cricket lies in getting the sport back into the school system. (ANI)