Former Pakistan skipper Inzamam-ul-Haq on Thursday told an inquiry committee of the Pakistan Cricket Board that the players had been very keen to do well in the World Cup but luck was not on their side in the mega event.

Inzamam, who resigned as captain after the team's ignominious defeat to Ireland in the World Cup, told the committee in Lahore that the batting was not good enough in defeats against the West Indies and Ireland.

"He was candid in stating that the selection of the team was good but players had not performed up to expectations and just didn't put the runs on the board to support the bowlers," a member of the committee said.

The committee is headed by former Test player Ejaz Butt and includes Saleem Altaf and Salahuddin Ahmed, two well-known and senior faces in Pakistan cricket.

On Wednesday, the committee had questioned assistant coach Mushtaq Ahmed.

Inzamam is reported to have told the committee that he would not blame the bowlers as they put in their best efforts in both games and even in the warm-up matches.

"He said he himself and the other senior batsmen just didn't click for the team although their intentions were clearly not to disappoint the nation so badly," the member said.

A source confirmed that the members also questioned Inzamam about the influence of religion in the team and whether the stress on religious activities had distracted the players from giving their best in the World Cup.

"Inzamam disagreed and said that praying five times together and taking part in religious discussions had created unity in the team and there was no bickering or politics in the team," he said.

The former Pakistan skipper also said to have blamed a weak and non-competitive domestic structure for the failure of Pakistani batsmen to adapt to different conditions, especially pitches where the ball did a lot.

"He insisted that there was an acute need for the board to start thinking about preparing all type of pitches and improving the quality of cricket instead of just looking at the quantity of matches," the member disclosed.

A source said Inzamam was also quizzed about the decision not to play leg-spinner Danish Kaneria in the crucial game against Ireland when it was a well known fact that the Irish were not good players of wrist spin.