“For big jobs, you need to get big guys" : Shoaib Akhtar slams PCB for U19 performance

[MenInG]

Shoaib Akhtar launched a scathing criticism of Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), a day after Pakistan’s U19 team suffered a shocking 10-wicket defeat at the hands of India in the U19 World Cup semifinal. Describing performance by Pakistan’s U19 team as “immature”, Akhtar said that Pakistan Cricket Board needs to invest money and resources at disposal for the improvement of cricket at age group level in the country.

Speaking in a video on his Youtube channel, Akhtar said: “Indian U19 team was so mature because they have a mature coach. They got India’s best middle-order batsman Rahul Dravid for the coaching role in U19 team. When you get a big guy, you need to pay him big as well. Here, Younis Khan went to take the job, the PCB offered him a job, and then they are bargaining with him. ‘15 lakh nahi, 13 lakh le lo’. He said ‘take it back’. Is that how you treat your stars?”


Akhtar further said that former Pakistan players such as him, Mohammad Yousuf and Younis Khan can be used in coaching roles for the youth teams in the country. “There is Mohammad Yousuf, Younis Khan, I am here, just ask us. We will help the team. You think if we were a part of U19 coaching staff, the team would have performed like this?”

He added: “For big jobs, you need to get a big guy. I am not begging for a job here. This felt so bad. Our team looked immature. Their U19 team looked like their senior team. Why? For five years, they have had the same coach - Rahul Dravid.”

Akhtar further added that the board needs to invest money if they want to get a big player as coach. “You have to give something to the guy who is leaving everything behind. Yahan kehte hain 10 lakh le lo tum. Who will take the coaching job then? Those who will agree, they will provide such standards.”

Akhtar further said that PCB needs to take a lesson or two from BCCI, who created a 15-year-plan, and invested money to improve cricket in the country. “BCCI has invested in the U19 team. They made a 15-year plan. They brought Jagmohan Dalmiya, N Srinivasan - who brought investment, cricket, and IPL. Then, cherry on the top, they bring Sourav Ganguly at the helm. Who did we get? Pata nahi kaun Mani sahab,” he said.

“Andrew Strauss ran England Cricket. South Africa cricket is now being handled by Graeme Smith. And here, Pakistan veteran cricketers are running YouTube channels,” he said. “I do this for fun’s sake. But I don’t need to do it. My fans want to listen to me. But, still it is very painful.”

“There are some people who do not want PCB to get good players in the team. But if you don’t, the situation will remain the same. We looked very immature team - bad fielding, technical faults, poor bowlers,” Akhtar signed off.

https://www.hindustantimes.com/cric...d-cup-semis/story-uINPRlGc1IOoCHbM6SgwLJ.html

 

[Mamoon]

You think if we were a part of U19 coaching staff, the team would have performed like this?”

Yes.

 

[Mamoon]

I really hope people like him and Younis get coaching jobs so that Shoaib comes up with new excuses when they inevitably fail.

 

[Mirpur express]

Hypocrisy at its best!! Ps I pray Moyo & YK are kept faaaaar away from the youth set up.. if they genuinely wanted to help @ grassroot level they would’ve offered they’re services long time ago for free & most importantly everyone knows them too well to let them in , we need a culture change in the set up which will only happen when Misbah & Co are shown the door , I would love to see someone like Yasir Arafat heading the youth set up

 

[shah_1]

You need a good system, if you are relying on indiviuals then the system isn't any good

 

[Mamoon]

Hypocrisy at its best!! Ps I pray Moyo & YK are kept faaaaar away from the youth set up.. if they genuinely wanted to help @ grassroot level they would’ve offered they’re services long time ago for free & most importantly everyone knows them too well to let them in , we need a culture change in the set up which will only happen when Misbah & Co are shown the door , I would love to see someone like Yasir Arafat heading the youth set up

No one will or should offer their services for free. That is just ridiculous.

Younis is an egomaniac but if PCB is not willing to offer what he demands, he has every right to withdraw his name.

Do you think Dravid doesn’t get paid?

 

[shah_1]

No one will or should offer their services for free. That is just ridiculous.

Younis is an egomaniac but if PCB is not willing to offer what he demands, he has every right to withdraw his name.

Do you think Dravid doesn’t get paid?

For free )

 

[Shafi]

As if PCB really serious of improving our cricket.They are more busy with PSL to make money.

 

[Forward Defensive Push]

I am not begging for a job here. This felt so bad. Our team looked immature. Their U19 team looked like their senior team. Why? For five years, they have had the same coach - Rahul Dravid.”

This is precisely what you're doing, Shoaib. Drop the act now.

 

[Savak]

Hypocrisy at its best!! Ps I pray Moyo & YK are kept faaaaar away from the youth set up.. if they genuinely wanted to help @ grassroot level they would’ve offered they’re services long time ago for free & most importantly everyone knows them too well to let them in , we need a culture change in the set up which will only happen when Misbah & Co are shown the door , I would love to see someone like Yasir Arafat heading the youth set up

Rahul Dravid or anyone else in Indian Cricket are not offering their services for free, they are being paid very handsomely. Just saying

 

[Mirpur express]

my point is a truly patriotic & financially secure person would offer their services for free . For a start anyway , I would do it in a blink. but as I said they are not mentally fit to coach youngsters & should be kept away

 

[Mirpur express]

Can’t really compare with bcci staff , their budget for u19 setup is more then the whole of pcb budget hence guys like Dravid would be paid handsomely even if they were to offer their services for free

 

[Abid Z]

Well one things for sure unless Pakistan give serious thought and planning to junior level cricket we are going to get left far behind even at senior level. It doesn’t involve just change of coach but more A tours, fitness, improvement in sports science and general cricketing infrastructures. Shohaib is a very polarising individual but I’m pretty sure wasim Khan has mentioned time and again that this is part of their plans for under 19. Guess it takes a long time to create the correct structures.

 

[khan_aa]

being paid for a job is very important. it means that they are accountable. last thing we want is some baba ji who is an incompetent 'volunteer' and refusing the leave the post after failing.

 

[Muhammad Saad]

Can't believe my own eyes , our U19 cricket is dying poorly.

 

[Waleed93]

As usual, Shoaib speaking nonsense on his YouTube channel.

The Indian team won because they are a better team than their Pakistani counterparts, not because they are getting coached by Dravid. Their senior team is coached by a guy like Shastri and look at their results. We have one of our greatest Test batsman not only coaching us, but also selecting the team, and yet, our results are poor.

The fact of the matter is that this Indian U19 team could bring Sanjay Manjrekar to coach them, and we could bring in Wasim Akram, and yet, they will outplay us most of the time.

Shoaib begging for a job is not going to improve anything for Pakistan Cricket. In fact, our cricket will collapse like no tomorrow if a clown like him gets a coaching job.

 

[Waleed93]

Is that how you treat your stars?”

It makes me cringe so hard when he calls himself a star on every second video. You barely managed to play 200 international games for Pakistan because of your careless attitude and poor discipline, and you call yourself a star.

What's funnier is the fact that there are probably a dozen players from Pakistan who would get the "star" tag way before him.

 

[Shafi]

‘15 lakh nahi, 13 lakh le lo’ Shoaib got the point. PCB can never be professional whether they import mr. Professional from UK or appoint some one local. PCB is ready to pay Misbah to learn on the job RS 34 million per year annum but bargaining with better candidate with more work RS 1.5/month.

 

[Shafi]

Well one things for sure unless Pakistan give serious thought and planning to junior level cricket we are going to get left far behind even at senior level. It doesn’t involve just change of coach but more A tours, fitness, improvement in sports science and general cricketing infrastructures. Shohaib is a very polarising individual but I’m pretty sure wasim Khan has mentioned time and again that this is part of their plans for under 19. Guess it takes a long time to create the correct structures.

Wasim Khan is more interested to save money for PCB. First he got rid of foreign coaches from both our male and female team and replace them with local and incompetent desi coaches.

 

[Abdullah719]

“Andrew Strauss ran England Cricket. South Africa cricket is now being handled by Graeme Smith. And here, Pakistan veteran cricketers are running YouTube channels,” he said. “I do this for fun’s sake. But I don’t need to do it. My fans want to listen to me. But, still it is very painful.”


Andrew Strauss
Graeme Smith
Shoaib Akhtar

 

[Abdullah719]

He added: “For big jobs, you need to get a big guy. I am not begging for a job here. This felt so bad. Our team looked immature. Their U19 team looked like their senior team. Why? For five years, they have had the same coach - Rahul Dravid.”

Paras Mhambrey is India U19's coach btw.

So much for 'big guys for big jobs'.

 

[zafarsyed]

The reality is we PCB is not making a lot of money in general and this disgraceful and unemployed man not only asking for a job by yelling and screaming on his youtube channel, but also wants to get paid more than they are willing to offer a competent coach.

The team that makes the most money right now is India due to their commercial power. All other teams make money by associating with Indian cricket board by playing with them and letting their players play in IPL. There is only one country that doesn't play against India, isn't allowed to send any players in IPL, and is not allowed to play at home against any team for almost 10 years and only recently playing at home against the bottom half of the teams. Tell me exactly where is PCB suppose to make money and tell how are they suppose to keep up with the rest of the teams.

Instead of asking for higher wages, the reality is that budget cuts and such consolidation of position is the only way Pakistan cricket can survive until we are at least able to fully host all the games at home in Pakistan and actually make some money from these tours instead of going in deficit after hosting your own and the touring teams on neutral venues.

Instead of pointing fingers, we need former players to stand up and help out the current administration and the best way Shoaib can help out is by staying the hell away from the everything that has to do with Pakistan Cricket and stick to his youtube channel like a teenage girl.

 

[MenInG]

One of Pakistan’s most successful captains, Mushtaq Muhammad, feels a sound structure is behind the impressive rise of Indian cricket.The 76-year-old, who is based in Birmingham, said that he was impressed by India’s success and growth as a cricket nation.

“They are ahead of Pakistan and some other nations now because they have developed a sound cricket system by not making too many changes to their structure, their domestic and international players are well paid and they have built a strong pool of players,” said Mushtaq.

Mushtaq is credited with infusing a self-belief in the Pakistan team and introducing a culture of positivity and winning mentality among the players when he became captain in 1976.

Belonging to the famous Muhammad brothers cricketing family, Mushtaq led Pakistan to a home series victory over India and New Zealand besides twice winning Tests in Australia, in West Indies and beating New Zealand in New Zealand.

He was ousted and dropped as captain and player in a mini-revolt by some senior players before the famous 1978/79 tour to India where Pakistan lost the Test series.

Mushtaq, who later went on to become the head coach of the Pakistan team leading them to their first ever tri-series one-day triumph in Australia and also to the final of the 1999 World Cup, said the Indian board had also done well to not allow its players to play in any T20 league around the world except the IPL.

“That has helped them a lot. They pay and look after their players so well that their players don’t mind this restriction and can focus on India.

“Indian cricket is at top now because look at the number of matches they are playing at home and they are also getting better on overseas tours. In comparison Pakistan hardly plays regular Test series.” Mushtaq also had great praise for Indian captain Virat Kohli and batsman Rohit Sharma, calling them world-class performers.

“Kohli is lucky to have such a pool of players to pick from but he is still a good tactical captain. Technique wise also when I look at the Indian players they are moving ahead day by day.”

Mushtaq said Pakistan’s top batsman Babar Azam was also a world class product but he was not getting the same opportunities to showcase his talent like Kohli or other Indian players.

“Kohli might be a better player and more experienced but Babar is a top batsman and in same league but he doesn’t get too many Tests in a year.”

Mushtaq, a competent all-rounder who played 57 tests and 502 first class matches after making his test debut against the West Indies in 1959 at the age of just 15, rued the fact that India and Pakistan were not playing regularly against each other either at senior or lower levels.

“It is very sad for someone like me because I played a lot against and with Indian players and I learnt from them and they from me. It is unfortunate that politics has crept in and India doesn’t want to play bilateral matches with us. It is hurting world cricket,” he added.

https://www.hindustantimes.com/cric...of-pakistan/story-hiTO8WJIPXb2nwufcxQdII.html

 

[MMHS]

PCB & PAK juniors will help themselves lot by keeping as much distance as possible with Shoaib Akther

 

[Savak]

The reality is we PCB is not making a lot of money in general and this disgraceful and unemployed man not only asking for a job by yelling and screaming on his youtube channel, but also wants to get paid more than they are willing to offer a competent coach.

The team that makes the most money right now is India due to their commercial power. All other teams make money by associating with Indian cricket board by playing with them and letting their players play in IPL. There is only one country that doesn't play against India, isn't allowed to send any players in IPL, and is not allowed to play at home against any team for almost 10 years and only recently playing at home against the bottom half of the teams. Tell me exactly where is PCB suppose to make money and tell how are they suppose to keep up with the rest of the teams.

Instead of asking for higher wages, the reality is that budget cuts and such consolidation of position is the only way Pakistan cricket can survive until we are at least able to fully host all the games at home in Pakistan and actually make some money from these tours instead of going in deficit after hosting your own and the touring teams on neutral venues.

Instead of pointing fingers, we need former players to stand up and help out the current administration and the best way Shoaib can help out is by staying the hell away from the everything that has to do with Pakistan Cricket and stick to his youtube channel like a teenage girl.

While I agree with your post in general, it shows incompetence on the part of the PCB that they have been unable to figure out ways to diversify their income in the last ten years and they keep putting all their eggs in the BCCI basket inspite of knowing so well that both the BCCI or the Indian govt have no interest in helping the PCB and Pakistani Cricket get much needed financial injections

 

[Savak]

As usual, Shoaib speaking nonsense on his YouTube channel.

The Indian team won because they are a better team than their Pakistani counterparts, not because they are getting coached by Dravid. Their senior team is coached by a guy like Shastri and look at their results. We have one of our greatest Test batsman not only coaching us, but also selecting the team, and yet, our results are poor.

The fact of the matter is that this Indian U19 team could bring Sanjay Manjrekar to coach them, and we could bring in Wasim Akram, and yet, they will outplay us most of the time.

Shoaib begging for a job is not going to improve anything for Pakistan Cricket. In fact, our cricket will collapse like no tomorrow if a clown like him gets a coaching job.

The best coaches or players need to be involved at the grass roots, domestic teams and U19 teams and the academies, outside that they have zero effect on the national side by which time it is very late to change bad habits. India has been better than Pakistan in this regard especially in the last ten years

 

[Saj]

I'd like to know how many jobs Shoaib Akhtar has actually properly applied for.

 

[MenInG]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-partner="tweetdeck"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Some former Pakistan players:<br><br>Criticise PCB all the time<br>Criticise the senior team<br>Criticise captains<br>Criticise coaches<br>Criticise the domestic set-up<br>Criticise junior teams such as U19s<br>Never apply for any jobs<br>But want PCB to give them a role<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Cricket?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Cricket</a></p>— Saj Sadiq (@Saj_PakPassion) <a href="https://twitter.com/Saj_PakPassion/status/1225489465709387777?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 6, 2020</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

 

[MenInG]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-partner="tweetdeck"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Shoaib Akhtar "Andrew Strauss ran English Cricket. South Africa cricket is now being handled by Graeme Smith. Rahul Dravid was India Under 19s coach for a few years. And here, Pakistani veteran cricketers are running YouTube channels" <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Cricket?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Cricket</a></p>— Saj Sadiq (@Saj_PakPassion) <a href="https://twitter.com/Saj_PakPassion/status/1225488179375071233?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 6, 2020</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

 

[MMHS]

PCB desperately needs to appoint qualified coaches for junior level academies - definitely for batting, gradually pace & spin bowling as well.

I think, batting part is quite evident but even in bowling, fundamentals of the youngsters don’t look good. And, classical spin seems to be a dying art in PAK - spinners are being picked for their run checking ability, and preferably a bit batting as well while new ball skill has declined alarmingly.

Shoaib himself was a freak - unconventional and unique. He wasn’t the skilled pacer, neither intelligent, but he was passionate for the team & his pace. These type of players hardly make good coach, and Shoaib is not even self disciplined either - not sure what he can teach junior or senior boys.

If he was right headed & a bit educated (& with a cleaner image), I would have definitely written to BCB to hire Mo Asif at some capacity, but not Shoaib.

 

[Thunderbolt14]

So he makes fun of Pakistani YouTubers not applying for coaching jobs, but then says it’s okay for him to do this for “fun” rather than applying for the job?

Also is it just me or does Shoaib Akhtar sound like Donald Trump at times when he talks about his fans lol

 

[Abid Z]

Wasim Khan is more interested to save money for PCB. First he got rid of foreign coaches from both our male and female team and replace them with local and incompetent desi coaches.

We’ve had some of the best foreign coaches ever..dav whatmore, Mickey Arthur, even going back many years bob Woolmer and Geoff Lawson were very good. Ultimately it comes down to not individuals but structures and processes at grass roots level upwards. Whether we have a foreign coach or local coach at senior level it doesn’t matter unless we improve our junior cricket.

 

[Bodamma90]

The way it works in real life for common people when they apply for their first job(potential but unproven) is:

1. They apply for a job that they're passionate about *and* qualify
2. They usually accept lower pay, put on probation (6 months to a year)
3. They have to prove their worth, demonstrate their capability/achievements through quantifiable performance KPIs.
4. Ask for raise based on #3 outcome.

Why should the rules be any different for former players when they opt for a second career?

 

[Saj]

We need top foreign coaches in domestic cricket and at the Under 19 level and at the academies.

In fact top coaches are more important at the academies than for the national team in my opinion.

 

[Plumb]

We need top foreign coaches in domestic cricket and at the Under 19 level and at the academies.

In fact top coaches are more important at the academies than for the national team in my opinion.

Exactly!!! always thought people like Mickey/Dean Jones or any other top coach should be in charge of U16/U19 cricket give them what they want in terms of salary/package and tell them to give us quality players in 3-4 years.

 

[MMHS]

I think, best coaching staffs for national team won’t help much in this regard. Ideally, national coach should work with seasoned pros, with readymade cricketers mostly on tactics, strategy, combination & adaptation of a particular condition/opponents. You don’t expect even **** Woolmer to teach fundamentals to national players, who might have adopted flawed technique from junior level.

It’s extremely important that genuine U13, U16 & U19 boys are learning the fundamentals (core skills of the game) of batting, bowling, catching from proper coaches - it doesn’t need to be a big name either - but someone qualified to teach the technical aspects of the game. Ramakant Achrekar didn’t play cricket beyond Dadar Union & Shivaji Park level.... but some of his pupils scored Test hundreds, double hundreds and quite many.

Hiring say Tom Moody or Bob Woolmer is like what Petro dollar rich Middle East tried - Saudi Arab, Kuwait, Qatar, UAE, Bahrain .... hired some of the best names in soccer - these people came, picked 35-40 players at the right age and trained them like a circus team for four years to qualify for World Cup, from the easiest of FIFA conferences. But, it didn’t develop their overall soccer capability, didn’t improve the competitiveness of their league, hence there was no continuation. On contrary, Korea, Japan, Iran, before war Iraq, Egypt, Algeria, Morocco developed their soccer from root level with proper sustainable system. Best similar example in cricket is probably India - their national team director is Shastri, bowling coach is Bharat Arun....

Honestly speaking, looking at the batsmen & bowlers of PAK juniors in last & this WC, I am not sure what Mudassar was doing at NCA - may be parting with him wasn’t a bad idea. PCB should hire qualified coaches for NCA to start with.

 

[BoomBoomCricket]

Ian Bell was England's batting coach and they finished in 9th place in the tournament.

 

[Plumb]

Shoaib's stunt with Qalanders pretty much sums up his coaching career.

 

[Donal Cozzie]

Laughable to think a head coach makes a difference at this age level.

Could put a literal scarecrow in charge of that Indian team and they'd still cruise the tournament because they are already pretty much the finished article by the time they reach the national level due to the systems they have. At 18 in the vast majority of cases its about finessing the talent thats there, its too late to create a diamond out of a rock by that age.

When the system that feeds the national teams at every level isnt there the results will show. India got their act together in the mid noughties and are now reaping it at every single level. Honestly with their financial muscle its very hard to really see any team competing at this age level for a long time barring a freak upset.

 

[Savak]

The way it works in real life for common people when they apply for their first job(potential but unproven) is:

1. They apply for a job that they're passionate about *and* qualify
2. They usually accept lower pay, put on probation (6 months to a year)
3. They have to prove their worth, demonstrate their capability/achievements through quantifiable performance KPIs.
4. Ask for raise based on #3 outcome.

Why should the rules be any different for former players when they opt for a second career?

I think these big players feel they have already achieved 3 based on their performances as players for Pakistan. A regular person who is unproven may not be able to boast about 3 when applying for his first couple of jobs

 

[Savak]

I think, best coaching staffs for national team won’t help much in this regard. Ideally, national coach should work with seasoned pros, with readymade cricketers mostly on tactics, strategy, combination & adaptation of a particular condition/opponents. You don’t expect even **** Woolmer to teach fundamentals to national players, who might have adopted flawed technique from junior level.

It’s extremely important that genuine U13, U16 & U19 boys are learning the fundamentals (core skills of the game) of batting, bowling, catching from proper coaches - it doesn’t need to be a big name either - but someone qualified to teach the technical aspects of the game. Ramakant Achrekar didn’t play cricket beyond Dadar Union & Shivaji Park level.... but some of his pupils scored Test hundreds, double hundreds and quite many.

Hiring say Tom Moody or Bob Woolmer is like what Petro dollar rich Middle East tried - Saudi Arab, Kuwait, Qatar, UAE, Bahrain .... hired some of the best names in soccer - these people came, picked 35-40 players at the right age and trained them like a circus team for four years to qualify for World Cup, from the easiest of FIFA conferences. But, it didn’t develop their overall soccer capability, didn’t improve the competitiveness of their league, hence there was no continuation. On contrary, Korea, Japan, Iran, before war Iraq, Egypt, Algeria, Morocco developed their soccer from root level with proper sustainable system. Best similar example in cricket is probably India - their national team director is Shastri, bowling coach is Bharat Arun....

Honestly speaking, looking at the batsmen & bowlers of PAK juniors in last & this WC, I am not sure what Mudassar was doing at NCA - may be parting with him wasn’t a bad idea. PCB should hire qualified coaches for NCA to start with.

Mudassar Nazar was over rated and over hyped like no tommorow. He has zero performance to speak off. He was in charge of the academies in early 2000's and then recently and not one single world class cricketer this NCA has produced, in fact i would contest our raw talent and quality of cricket has actually gone down with NCA

 

[Shafi]

We need top foreign coaches in domestic cricket and at the Under 19 level and at the academies.

In fact top coaches are more important at the academies than for the national team in my opinion.

Not under mr. professional khan. This guy got rid of 2 best head coaches from both male and female team. What make you think he wll hire a foreign coach for U19 team? Our formers will be mad.

 

[Shafi]

PCB desperately needs to appoint qualified coaches for junior level academies - definitely for batting, gradually pace & spin bowling as well.

I think, batting part is quite evident but even in bowling, fundamentals of the youngsters don’t look good. And, classical spin seems to be a dying art in PAK - spinners are being picked for their run checking ability, and preferably a bit batting as well while new ball skill has declined alarmingly.

Shoaib himself was a freak - unconventional and unique. He wasn’t the skilled pacer, neither intelligent, but he was passionate for the team & his pace. These type of players hardly make good coach, and Shoaib is not even self disciplined either - not sure what he can teach junior or senior boys.

If he was right headed & a bit educated (& with a cleaner image), I would have definitely written to BCB to hire Mo Asif at some capacity, but not Shoaib.

Highly unlikely!!!! PCB still lives in delusion and be pleased to be in semi. Besides Wasim Khan is not in favor of foreign coaches in order to keep his job and be good to our formers.

 

[latecut]

For important jobs, you need qualified people, not big guys.

Indian U-19 team coach is not Dravid, but Paras Mhambrey.

In the past, India senior team had Lalchand Rajput as their coach when they won inaugural T20 tournament in 2007.

Indian senior's team's present bowling coach is B Arun, a small time cricket in his days, but a pace bowling coaching expert extraordinaire.

As for Shoaib Akhtar, there is good reason why no one will ever appoint him as a coach. He is simply unqualified for the job.

 

[JibranAnsari]

I see guys doing their net practice on cement wickets in pakistan , that's how I'll managed our cricket really is. Only very few get the proper training at grass root level. Go to any stadium in Pakistan , outside there is a net practice area and you will see cement pitches there. The guys keep playing tape ball cricket along with hard ball. Lastly , the guys who make it through to u19 level are not mentally good enough and that carries through to national team as well. Ok you are playing India but India is another cricket team and there shouldn't be more pressure on our boys than playing any other team. Time to stop being too India centric especially when India is leagues ahead of you in all age groups.

 

[dildilpak]

Getting Younus Khan or Shoaib Akhter as coach wouldn’t have changed the fortune of the Pak U-19 team - firmly believe that getting a famous player as coach is not the solution for Pakistan’s grass-root woes, they need a whole system of scouts + mentors + analysts + unbiased selectors. Basically operating on ‘Jajbaa & Junoon’ won’t cut it anymore.

What people miss is that Rahul Dravid created a whole eco-system for scouting & mentoring talented kids from the school level into the India-A & U-19 eco-sphere which in-turn feeds into the Indian first class structure & senior team and that’s how & why they are methodically churning out great players even in his absence for this U-19 WC. This kinda system can be put in place by any expert involved in game administration - you don’t necessarily need a famous player to do that!

 

[Waleed93]

The best coaches or players need to be involved at the grass roots, domestic teams and U19 teams and the academies, outside that they have zero effect on the national side by which time it is very late to change bad habits. India has been better than Pakistan in this regard especially in the last ten years

The problem is that there is a difference between our ex-cricketers and Indian ex-cricketers.

What kind of changes will you see at the grass roots if our best players involved are the likes of Shoaib, Younis, Yousuf, Waqar, etc...?

There are people like Dravid who actually want to do something good for their country's cricket, and are ready to genuinely work with youngsters, and then you have people like the names I mentioned above, who will be ready to get the salary of the PM of Pakistan, but will show next to zero improvement in terms of performance, because of their arrogance and ego, which will eventually have a bad impact on the U19 kids.

You just have to look how these bitter clowns speak on YouTube or media channels about our current or upcoming players and you will understand that they need to be kept as far as possible from Pakistan Cricket. You will never see the likes of Dravid, Ganguly or Tendulkar publicly blasting Indian youngsters if they don't perform well, unlike our so called legends who don't have the manners to properly analyse the game without attacking players on TV channels.

 

[Gullycricket]

Thick head Akhtar doesn't realise that individuals do nothing.U put a clown like Ravi Shastri as coach even he will win you trophies.Its just the system is in place which is very effective. Akhtar believes too highly of his jazaba and badmashi to think we could have beaten India.... Australia in 2000's could win anything whether they had J.Buchanan as coach or not. Let him make YouTube videos and be a joke

 

[the Great Khan]

The problem is that there is a difference between our ex-cricketers and Indian ex-cricketers.

What kind of changes will you see at the grass roots if our best players involved are the likes of Shoaib, Younis, Yousuf, Waqar, etc...?

There are people like Dravid who actually want to do something good for their country's cricket, and are ready to genuinely work with youngsters, and then you have people like the names I mentioned above, who will be ready to get the salary of the PM of Pakistan, but will show next to zero improvement in terms of performance, because of their arrogance and ego, which will eventually have a bad impact on the U19 kids.

You just have to look how these bitter clowns speak on YouTube or media channels about our current or upcoming players and you will understand that they need to be kept as far as possible from Pakistan Cricket. You will never see the likes of Dravid, Ganguly or Tendulkar publicly blasting Indian youngsters if they don't perform well, unlike our so called legends who don't have the manners to properly analyse the game without attacking players on TV channels.

There is a wider societal issue too. Indian cricketers tend to be better educated and from , what we in south asia call, good families. They are also harder working as they know they need to succeed in a very highly competitive environment where one mistake can mean your a vegetable seller or tea seller.

In Pakistan our guys by and large live in a bit more comfort than our indian counter parts. One only has to visit some of the villages of punjab and KP to see that if you want you can live a quiet lazy sedate existence and get away with it. That doesnt mean there isnt poverty. There is , of course there is and perhaps im generalising a bit, but I see a better work ethic amongst indians than pakistanis at times.

Also in recent years most of our cricketers have come from poor backgrounds where its cricket or bust hence why they may not be educationally at the level of indian players and our education system is worse than indias..

 

[Saj]

Shoaib's stunt with Qalanders pretty much sums up his coaching career.

Indeed.

Did not last long, not re-hired either.

 

[Saj]

Not under mr. professional khan. This guy got rid of 2 best head coaches from both male and female team. What make you think he wll hire a foreign coach for U19 team? Our formers will be mad.

I would like to see the likes of Andy Flower, Jason Gillespie working at the NCA with upcoming players, Under 19s etc, but there's no way it will happen.

 

[Bullet Drive]

I think, best coaching staffs for national team won’t help much in this regard. Ideally, national coach should work with seasoned pros, with readymade cricketers mostly on tactics, strategy, combination & adaptation of a particular condition/opponents. You don’t expect even **** Woolmer to teach fundamentals to national players, who might have adopted flawed technique from junior level.

It’s extremely important that genuine U13, U16 & U19 boys are learning the fundamentals (core skills of the game) of batting, bowling, catching from proper coaches - it doesn’t need to be a big name either - but someone qualified to teach the technical aspects of the game. Ramakant Achrekar didn’t play cricket beyond Dadar Union & Shivaji Park level.... but some of his pupils scored Test hundreds, double hundreds and quite many.

Hiring say Tom Moody or Bob Woolmer is like what Petro dollar rich Middle East tried - Saudi Arab, Kuwait, Qatar, UAE, Bahrain .... hired some of the best names in soccer - these people came, picked 35-40 players at the right age and trained them like a circus team for four years to qualify for World Cup, from the easiest of FIFA conferences. But, it didn’t develop their overall soccer capability, didn’t improve the competitiveness of their league, hence there was no continuation. On contrary, Korea, Japan, Iran, before war Iraq, Egypt, Algeria, Morocco developed their soccer from root level with proper sustainable system. Best similar example in cricket is probably India - their national team director is Shastri, bowling coach is Bharat Arun....

Honestly speaking, looking at the batsmen & bowlers of PAK juniors in last & this WC, I am not sure what Mudassar was doing at NCA - may be parting with him wasn’t a bad idea. PCB should hire qualified coaches for NCA to start with.

Last WC tbh wasn't bad.

We had Shaheen Afridi, Musa Khan and Arshad Iqbal as our pace bowlers. Spinner was Hasan Khan.

 

[MMHS]

Last WC tbh wasn't bad.

We had Shaheen Afridi, Musa Khan and Arshad Iqbal as our pace bowlers. Spinner was Hasan Khan.

Without NCA or even without any coach, there will be some standard in PAK bowling, therefore I don’t think NCA should be given much credit here. Two skill set that really hurting PAK cricket is batting and fielding which seems to be stuck at same level. I think, they need to bring “batting” focus in NCA - all the coaches/names I read are either pacer or spinner, at best all-rounder. What they need is to appoint couple of qualified specialist batting coaches, dedicated for age level batsmen.

Another problem is the all-rounder syndrome in PAK cricket - too many players coming with several skills (even some of them don’t know which is their stronger suit), then some turns into batsman, some bowler, some remains all-rounder and everyone trying to survive with contribution factor. This needs to stop - cricket is a specialist game and all-rounders are also specialist in their role. NCA must identify junior cricketers on pure batting merit and build them to be proper batsman - no Malik, MoHa, Shadab..... route - you make it as batsman, or next man gets the chance.

 

[ManFan]

The Donald Trump of International Cricket.

 

[silent ischemia]

Shoaib was associated with the Qalandars for a couple of years. And everybody knows where they finished

 

[Varun]

Shoaib Akhtar as coach of any team would mean the end of that team.

 

[Monsee]

I usually don't watch the tv show 'Game on Hai' cause the host (Dr. Sahb) is so cringe worthy, he gives Akhtar a run for the money sometimes. Today, I was watching the game on an App on my cell towards the very end of the day, after the game ended, and that show started.

I was gonna tolerate the host due to Rashid being very good with his analysis but as soon as he introduced that Actor sahib is also part of the show, I closed the App in protest because he is a ghatiya, beghainrat, and laanti insaan. I cannot stand his rambling and boastings any longer...especially when he liest at the expense of others or even the country (re: Kaneria prejudice claims he made and then backed away without naming a single name)!

 

[Saj]

Shoaib was associated with the Qalandars for a couple of years. And everybody knows where they finished

And there were quite a few issues behind the scenes. Fortunately for some details of which were not disclosed.

 

[Savak]

I find it hilarious that people are bashing Akhtar for the fortunes of Qalandars for the 2 seasons he was associated with them as an advisor or mentor but nothing for Aqib Javed who has the overall responsibility of that team and still gets retained season after season.

 

[Savak]

The problem is that there is a difference between our ex-cricketers and Indian ex-cricketers.

What kind of changes will you see at the grass roots if our best players involved are the likes of Shoaib, Younis, Yousuf, Waqar, etc...?

There are people like Dravid who actually want to do something good for their country's cricket, and are ready to genuinely work with youngsters, and then you have people like the names I mentioned above, who will be ready to get the salary of the PM of Pakistan, but will show next to zero improvement in terms of performance, because of their arrogance and ego, which will eventually have a bad impact on the U19 kids.

You just have to look how these bitter clowns speak on YouTube or media channels about our current or upcoming players and you will understand that they need to be kept as far as possible from Pakistan Cricket. You will never see the likes of Dravid, Ganguly or Tendulkar publicly blasting Indian youngsters if they don't perform well, unlike our so called legends who don't have the manners to properly analyse the game without attacking players on TV channels.

Dravid did not exactly volunteer himself to work with India's U-19 and A teams, he was approached, offered a staggering amount and he accepted.

Everytime the PCB has approached Younis Khan, Yousaf, Saqlain, they have failed to reach a deal and instead have opted for cheaper, compliant, yes man individuals.

 

[Savak]

Indeed.

Did not last long, not re-hired either.

What is the excuse for Aqib Javed being rehired after season after season of disasterous performances. I believe Akhtar not going back to Qalandars may have a lot to do with his public criticism of Aqib Javed. Inzi was not rehired either, should that be a black stigma on him? Everyone knows that Qalandars management is extremely emotional and unprofessional.

 

[Savak]

Ian Bell was England's batting coach and they finished in 9th place in the tournament.

Lol, don't think Ian Bell was a special cricketer, he was a softie whose major performances came in comfortable situations. England dispensed with him in his prime when his performances were no longer good enough.

 

[Waleed93]

Dravid did not exactly volunteer himself to work with India's U-19 and A teams, he was approached, offered a staggering amount and he accepted.

Everytime the PCB has approached Younis Khan, Yousaf, Saqlain, they have failed to reach a deal and instead have opted for cheaper, compliant, yes man individuals.

Dravid is an out and out honest gentleman who would try his level best to improve Indian U19 cricketers. He is someone who never ran behind fame and does his job silently, without creating any kind of controversy. He totally deserves to be paid a lot of money for his job. If the likes of Shaw, Gill, Jaiswal turn out be future batting superstars, a huge credit would go to Dravid for his mentoring and his ability to develop young talents.

He is not a cheap man like Shoaib who will not hesitate once before publicly blaming U19 players for his incompetence as a coach. You can learn everything related to cricket from a mentor like Dravid. What do you want our youngsters to learn from a player who spent half of his career in controversy because of his disciplinary issues ?

Shoaib is a poison who deserves to be far, far away from Pakistan Cricket.

 

[zafarsyed]

While I agree with your post in general, it shows incompetence on the part of the PCB that they have been unable to figure out ways to diversify their income in the last ten years and they keep putting all their eggs in the BCCI basket inspite of knowing so well that both the BCCI or the Indian govt have no interest in helping the PCB and Pakistani Cricket get much needed financial injections

It is quite easy to put blame on PCB for anything and everything but I will go ahead and give you the platform to come up with just few ideas that PCB could have used to diversify their income sources. I am not even asking you to PCB should go about implementing them because at the end of the day that really is the hardest part.

To say that PCB has been putting all their eggs in one basic is very naive as well. PCB has been open to have dialogue with BCCI and that is what anyone smart enough to know the dynamic of the situation would do the same. They are literally 100x more powerful in every facet of this business and instead of sticking your head in the sand and pretending like we are still equals, realize that we have a LONG way to go and the current PCB administration is trying its best to address those issues. Budget cuts were in order and should continue for a while until we can start playing regular cricket at home and actually make some money off these tours. After that, you hope that they will invest that money into proper structure in school cricket and junior level. That is when you will see U-19 cricketers performing more consistently and competing against better teams. Just paying exorbitant amount of money to a big social media personality will only make matters worst.

Again, it is very easy to criticize everyone and extremely hard to put yourself in other people's shoes to understand their circumstances.

 

[IAJ]

We need top foreign coaches in domestic cricket and at the Under 19 level and at the academies.

In fact top coaches are more important at the academies than for the national team in my opinion.

Next time you see Wasim Khan can you please forward these proposals. This is the only way forward otherwise Pakistan will lose the race.

 

[Savak]

It is quite easy to put blame on PCB for anything and everything but I will go ahead and give you the platform to come up with just few ideas that PCB could have used to diversify their income sources. I am not even asking you to PCB should go about implementing them because at the end of the day that really is the hardest part.

To say that PCB has been putting all their eggs in one basic is very naive as well. PCB has been open to have dialogue with BCCI and that is what anyone smart enough to know the dynamic of the situation would do the same. They are literally 100x more powerful in every facet of this business and instead of sticking your head in the sand and pretending like we are still equals, realize that we have a LONG way to go and the current PCB administration is trying its best to address those issues. Budget cuts were in order and should continue for a while until we can start playing regular cricket at home and actually make some money off these tours. After that, you hope that they will invest that money into proper structure in school cricket and junior level. That is when you will see U-19 cricketers performing more consistently and competing against better teams. Just paying exorbitant amount of money to a big social media personality will only make matters worst.

Again, it is very easy to criticize everyone and extremely hard to put yourself in other people's shoes to understand their circumstances.

Wasim Khan himself has stated in various interviews that the PCB for too long had been chasing the BCCI and that they needed to find other ways to generate revenues. Leaders are appointed and paid to solve problems.

If we follow this logic that it is very easy to criticize and very hard to put yourselves in other people's shoes to understand their circumstances then what right do we the citizens have to criticize the present govt today. Everyone knows that the economic situation that the PTI govt inherited and are presently facing was a huge impossibility and required tough, painful decisions with no easy fix, does that mean people are not going to complain about the inflation they have to deal with on a day to day basis? Does that mean the govt can just tell people that the situation and crisis we are facing is very tough and has no real quick fix so deal with it? No, the govt has to find a way to deal it and start delivering, that is why they were appointed and i apply the same logic to the PCB

Whatever steps the PCB is taking now should have honestly been taken from 2010 onwards, unfortunately people like Ijaz Butt and Co were just not proactive enough and adopted the seth mindset "Ok we are not making money, lets just cut the budgets and expenses and reduce the A team tours, U 19 tours and close down the academies, let the domestic pitches and stadiums rot, all this while paying exhorbitant salaries to corrupt, ******** employees in the PCB".

 

[Savak]

We need top foreign coaches in domestic cricket and at the Under 19 level and at the academies.

In fact top coaches are more important at the academies than for the national team in my opinion.

Please suggest something practical. You think the PCB would not love for top foreign coaches to work at the NCA and Academies and with the U19 team. Did we not learn from the national team coaching recruitment that big names do not want to come and coach and work in Pakistan? Afghanistan and Bangladesh are able to attract bigger names than the PCB and these people will take full advantage of the Supply Demand equation and will demand a very high salary i.e. $500,000 plus per annum along with other perks, benefits. Can the PCB afford to pay so many foreign employees?

Whats the next best alternative if foreign coaches are not available? You go to the next best alternatives i.e. the big names who have delivered for Pakistan in international cricket i.e. your legends and you get the best out of them.

 

[Mamoon]

Please suggest something practical. You think the PCB would not love for top foreign coaches to work at the NCA and Academies and with the U19 team. Did we not learn from the national team coaching recruitment that big names do not want to come and coach and work in Pakistan? Afghanistan and Bangladesh are able to attract bigger names than the PCB and these people will take full advantage of the Supply Demand equation and will demand a very high salary i.e. $500,000 plus per annum along with other perks, benefits. Can the PCB afford to pay so many foreign employees?

Whats the next best alternative if foreign coaches are not available? You go to the next best alternatives i.e. the big names who have delivered for Pakistan in international cricket i.e. your legends and you get the best out of them.

The reason why no big name coach applied was the whole process was a farce orchestrated by PCB. The job was handed over to Misbah before the job was advertised.

A credible coach who gets plenty of offers will have enough self-respect to not apply when he knows that it’s a waste of time.

A dual coach and selector role is extremely attractive in spite of PCB’s reputation as an employer. It gives you the power to build a team without the usual blame shifting, with the coach blaming the selector for not selecting the right players and the selector blaming the coach for not choosing the right XI.

If PCB were honest about the process of replacing Arthur, plenty of big name coaches would have been interested in taking over.

 

[Saj]

Please suggest something practical. You think the PCB would not love for top foreign coaches to work at the NCA and Academies and with the U19 team. Did we not learn from the national team coaching recruitment that big names do not want to come and coach and work in Pakistan? Afghanistan and Bangladesh are able to attract bigger names than the PCB and these people will take full advantage of the Supply Demand equation and will demand a very high salary i.e. $500,000 plus per annum along with other perks, benefits. Can the PCB afford to pay so many foreign employees?

Whats the next best alternative if foreign coaches are not available? You go to the next best alternatives i.e. the big names who have delivered for Pakistan in international cricket i.e. your legends and you get the best out of them.

If you pay peanuts, you get monkeys.

If you want the world's best coaches to work at the NCA then you have to pay them accordingly.

You need to have a long-term vision for it to work.

 

[Savak]

If you pay peanuts, you get monkeys.

If you want the world's best coaches to work at the NCA then you have to pay them accordingly.

You need to have a long-term vision for it to work.

Well i agree with you there. PCB sources admitted than many applicants and individuals as part of their first query asked the PCB about the compensation, perks involved with the role and when the PCB quoted $240,000-$300,000, these individuals never got back to the PCB. The BCCI pays Shashtri $1.2 million a year. After that Cricket Australia pays Justin Langer $600,000 a year and the English team pays their coach $500,000 a year.

The PCB needs to offer $600,000 plus along with other perks, powers for the role and learn from the Steve Rixon saga.