Pakistan’s cricket team coach Intikhab Alam is again the butt of criticism these days, this time because of his age. Sixty-seven years old Intikhab Alam is being criticized as too old to coach the national cricket team and hence the demand for his resignation. But Intikhab has fired back by attributing the ageist criticism to jealousy and personal vendetta of some antagonists.

Intikhab Alam attracted criticism from a number of people after Pakistan’s poor performance and repeated failure against the Sri Lankans, recently in Sri Lanka. Among those criticizing Alam for his age are former cricket star Aamir Sohail and former the chief of Pakistan Cricket Board Tauqir Zia. The critics think that Pakistani team needs a young coach to prepare them for greater success. Reacting to them, Intikhab Alam said that his critics were jealous of his success, manifest in the team’s victory in the T20 World Cup. Intikhab also defended himself by saying that coaching goes better with experience and football coaches are usually experienced folk, over 70 years of age, around the world.

Meanwhile, Intikhab Alam is preparing the national cricket team for the up and coming Champions Trophy event, starting September 22 in South Africa. For this purpose, a five-day camp has been set in Karachi as the final phase of preparation for the event.