Babar Azam - Who could possibly be his best batting coach?

[Ifu Hussain]

I guess he has all the credentials of becoming a legendary batsman.He has got all the talent, times the ball beautifully,can up the ante when needed. All he needs is to rotate the strike better during the initial phase of his innings.
Who could be the batting coach who would take Babar to the next level.... But please don't suggest anybody from India, because it's not logical to discuss something that's nearly impossible. No doubt he can contact the likes of Dravid and others over phone or during some tournament to improve his game, but on long term basis, who do you think would be his ideal batting coach.
For me Sir Vivian Richards.... if at all he's ready to work with him and the others on a consistent basis....

 

[Eagle_Eye]

He needs a batting coach at his age? ......

Who was miandad's batting coach?

 

[Ifu Hussain]

I guess nobody was Miandad's coach.... But nowadays cricket is changing thick and fast.... I guess improving yourself is the need of the hour...

 

[MMHS]

I guess nobody was Miandad's coach.... But nowadays cricket is changing thick and fast.... I guess improving yourself is the need of the hour...

Javed played for Sussex from 1975 to 1979, then for Glamargoan from 1989 to probably 1990 - for 6 months' season that had 25+ FC matches with 420+ overs scheduled in each one. And, both Counties had professional batting, fitness & conditioning coach, specialist net bowlers.

May not be like modern days, but even in 1890s, Counties had paid pro coaches, who would spend long hours at nets with their batsmen. There is a old footage of Ranji batting at nets, probably sometimes in 1896 - the guy watching & instructing him standing behind (forgot name now), was his personal coach & trainer.

 

[Ifu Hussain]

Thanks for the information bro.... But u didn't give your valuable views regarding what I asked about Babar

 

[MMHS]

Thanks for the information bro.... But u didn't give your valuable views regarding what I asked about Babar

I think, whoever is appointed as national coach on proper scrutiny should be sufficient. On top of that, he can work at NCA with specialist coaches for time to time minor fixes. For specialist batting coach, I found few coaches very good for shaping young batsmen - Fletcher, Siddons, Whatmore... but it should be left for Arthur to decide, he is a good batting coach actually.

What you are asking probably for more of a mentor than coach - someone who should give him support beyond technicality & give him encouragement, confidence. I probably will say - MoYo can be fantastic mentor, similar type of batsman, who knows the ins & outs of PAK culture & has lots of experience. Also, it's not a 20 hours/week job that MoYo needs to be by his side every moment.

 

[The intelligent Supporter]

He needs some power game badly. His drives and defense is solid. Needs to really work on lofted shots.

 

[Saj]

Himself.

No better coach than yourself.

If you need to rely on coaches to continually guide you in cricket, then you have a problem.

 

[Ifu Hussain]

Saj Bhai exactly what I wanted to hear.... Babar himself needs to work hard.... Have hunger for runs..... Maintain his fitness..... And have the goal of being the number 1 batsman in the ICC rankings at least in Tests and ODIs....

 

[Leo23]

Himself.

No better coach than yourself.

If you need to rely on coaches to continually guide you in cricket, then you have a problem.

well said.

 

[Sarfarazian92]

McCullum

 

[Little Master]

Legendary? please give me a break.

We would be lucky if he turns out to be as good as say Yousaf Youhanna / Mohammad Yousaf was.

 

[Pak_lover6]

Well I would say Mr. Cricket should be Pakistan's next batting coach.

 

[Ifu Hussain]

Mr. Little Master..... Don't you think Mohd. Yousuf was a legendary batsman..... If Babar achieves what Yousuf has achieved with an improved strike rate than Yousuf's, he would surely be one of the greatest batsman the world has seen....

 

[Hasan123]

Arthur is doing a good enough job

 

[Ifu Hussain]

Absolutely.... Arthur is doing a good job.... But we r not talking about the head coach bro.... It's about the batting coach

 

[ahmedwaqas92]

Absolutely.... Arthur is doing a good job.... But we r not talking about the head coach bro.... It's about the batting coach

Read Saj's Post #8 again..... If one has the drive to succeed, he/she will!! Regardless of whether Pakistan appoints a pro/any batting coach or not.

Umer Akmal has all the facilities and requisites to be the best batsmen in Pakistan however, the boy has zero commitment to the cause and look where he has ended up as.....Babar is as good as anyone we can find in our domestics and until and unless he himself wants to be the best in the world no one can help him.

From what I've seen of him Babar has a good enough work ethic at the moment, and all he needs is to have the drive (similar to Kohli) to be the best in the world and he will reach it irrespective of who's coaching him at the national level. Micky already has got the boys laser focused as it is and I'd let him continue with Babar as well even though he isn't technically the batting coach for the national team.

 

[Little Master]

Mr. Little Master..... Don't you think Mohd. Yousuf was a legendary batsman..... If Babar achieves what Yousuf has achieved with an improved strike rate than Yousuf's, he would surely be one of the greatest batsman the world has seen....

I dont know what your definition of legendary is but Yousaf ain't a legend. He was a very good batsman at best.

 

[mak36]

I dont know what your definition of legendary is but Yousaf ain't a legend. He was a very good batsman at best.

Underrate him at your own peril.

 

[ahmedwaqas92]

Underrate him at your own peril.

Errr......Yousuf isn't a legend mate.....He was a borderline Tier 2 batsmen who had a purple patch of no more than 2 years.....

 

[mak36]

Errr......Yousuf isn't a legend mate.....He was a borderline Tier 2 batsmen who had a purple patch of no more than 2 years.....

Too many posters on here don't give Yousuf the respect he deserves. He scored over 7500 test runs at an average of 52. Not bad for a "tier 2" batsman.

I'm not going to argue with you but, for whatever reason, you have an unjustified and unsubstantiated dislike of Yousuf.

 

[Eagle_Eye]

Errr......Yousuf isn't a legend mate.....He was a borderline Tier 2 batsmen who had a purple patch of no more than 2 years.....

A guy with a test average of 52 is a tier 2 batsman

 

[Little Master]

A guy with a test average of 52 is a tier 2 batsman

Well clearly he is not as good as the likes of Sachin, Lara, Ponting, Sangakara, Younis Khan, Hayden etc. who played during the first time, so clearly that just leaves tier 2 for him.

 

[projektq]

Errr......Yousuf isn't a legend mate.....He was a borderline Tier 2 batsmen who had a purple patch of no more than 2 years.....

Yousuf was one of the most serene batsmen of his generation with numbers to back this up. A purple patch of 2 years is not enough to maintain a 50+ career average...

 

[Ifu Hussain]

[MENTION=136079]ahmedwaqas92[/MENTION]
Bro I totally agree with u.... I know Babar needs to work hard and have the passion to be among the best.... But since Grant Flower is likely to be removed, who according to u should be the next Batting Coach that the PCB should hire, which would really be beneficial for our batsmen( as long as they themselves work on their game)..... Some might say that there is no need of a batting coach but guys it's most likely that PCB will definitely get a new batting coach.....

 

[Ifu Hussain]

For all who consider Yousuf a tier 2 batsmen:-
Yousuf's average in Tests is 52.29 and in ODIs it's 41.71
Brian Lara's avg in Tests is 52.88 and in ODIs it's 40.88
Younis khan's avg in Tests is 52.05 and in ODIs it's 31.34
Ponting's avg in Tests is 51.85 and in ODIs it's 42.03
Sachin's avg in Tests is 53.78 and in ODIs it's 44.83......
So guys u clearly see the records and realise that Mohd Yousuf is a legend...

 

[shaz619]

Inzi, the big fella is a smart bloke; he's hated but keeps making a fool out of his inept critics.

 

[ahmedwaqas92]

[MENTION=136079]ahmedwaqas92[/MENTION]
Bro I totally agree with u.... I know Babar needs to work hard and have the passion to be among the best.... But since Grant Flower is likely to be removed, who according to u should be the next Batting Coach that the PCB should hire, which would really be beneficial for our batsmen( as long as they themselves work on their game)..... Some might say that there is no need of a batting coach but guys it's most likely that PCB will definitely get a new batting coach.....

I am not too sure where you're from and I mean no offense in stating this but normally in Pakistan people associate a batting coach (for the national team i.e.) as someone who would teach the batsmen on how to play a certain way which sadly, for anyone who still believes this, is as far from the truth as the Sun is from our planet.

A batting coach for the national team devises batting strategy, identifies existing weak zones for his players, assesses opposition players to target during a series / tournament and helps iron out kinks or minuscule flaws that could lead to his / her batsmen giving away his wicket. This type of a modern day approach requires coaches to be in sync with data analysis and other techinologic insights such as predictive models and quantifiable numbers.

Unfortunately 95% of the coaches in Pakistan wouldn't have a clue in hell on where to actually begin if we ever need such a coach down the road and all they would effectively offer is thier redundant 1960s mantra on playing the game like they used to 'in their time'

Grant flower was an absolute gem of a coach who worked and tweaked a lot of our current test bats, people don't necessarily give him a lot of credit but I believe he had a massive role in that 2-2 draw that we secured, away from home, against England. He has worked a lot with Azhar, Asad and Sarfraz who all have become the backbone of our test team which is one of the major achievements during his stint.

When Azhar was coming off age, he couldn't sweep the ball nor could Asad play the incoming delivery off a pacer however grant tweaked them to the point where both these batsmen have now a century each in England and Australia, heck if I am not too mistaken Azhar has a double ton there as well.

This is the type of coach we need, someone who knows how to make minor adjustments that would complement the natural flair and talent of our batsmen. We do not need a batting coach who would teach the batsmen of their inability to close the bat-pad gap or to know which balls to leave and which balls to play at- that is something that needs to be done at the junior level, however what we need is someone who knows how to break down a fourth innings chase, how to set targets in 50 over cricket, how to attack during the 3rd PP against a sepecific opponent etc etc. We need that sort of a guy. At the moment I am not too sure who the best fit is in this climate but I wouldn't necessarily want any Pakistani to be working with our lot, they always have a habit of ruining things + too much past baggage.

 

[zn426]

Well clearly he is not as good as the likes of Sachin, Lara, Ponting, Sangakara, Younis Khan, Hayden etc. who played during the first time, so clearly that just leaves tier 2 for him.

You even put him in your tier 1...Freudian slip or is he actually in your tier one? I bet he is.

 

[bilalmasaud]

Himself.

No better coach than yourself.

If you need to rely on coaches to continually guide you in cricket, then you have a problem.

sometimes going back to your childhood coach helps ... i remember sachin did that a few times

 

[bilalmasaud]

Too many posters on here don't give Yousuf the respect he deserves. He scored over 7500 test runs at an average of 52. Not bad for a "tier 2" batsman.

I'm not going to argue with you but, for whatever reason, you have an unjustified and unsubstantiated dislike of Yousuf.

yousuf the batsman definitely great! yousuf the man leaves much to be desired ... i think his other side is what makes people dislike him and eventually discredit his achievements a bit.... he just was sour for some reason ... loved watching him bat ... but always felt a soft dismissal was round the corner

 

[mak36]

yousuf the batsman definitely great! yousuf the man leaves much to be desired ... i think his other side is what makes people dislike him and eventually discredit his achievements a bit.... he just was sour for some reason ... loved watching him bat ... but always felt a soft dismissal was round the corner

Whatever his personality faults to call him a 2nd tier batsmen is, frankly, ignorant. He was one of the most stylish batsmen of his generation, and the numbers show he backed up style with substance. To be honest, I don't think PCT has produced as elegant a batsmen since.

 

[troodon]

At the highest level, a player need a mentor. Someone who can talk to a batsman or bowler and make minor corrections.
Coaching and changing massive faults in technique should be done in domestics.

 

[Ifu Hussain]

I am not too sure where you're from and I mean no offense in stating this but normally in Pakistan people associate a batting coach (for the national team i.e.) as someone who would teach the batsmen on how to play a certain way which sadly, for anyone who still believes this, is as far from the truth as the Sun is from our planet.

A batting coach for the national team devises batting strategy, identifies existing weak zones for his players, assesses opposition players to target during a series / tournament and helps iron out kinks or minuscule flaws that could lead to his / her batsmen giving away his wicket. This type of a modern day approach requires coaches to be in sync with data analysis and other techinologic insights such as predictive models and quantifiable numbers.

Unfortunately 95% of the coaches in Pakistan wouldn't have a clue in hell on where to actually begin if we ever need such a coach down the road and all they would effectively offer is thier redundant 1960s mantra on playing the game like they used to 'in their time'

Grant flower was an absolute gem of a coach who worked and tweaked a lot of our current test bats, people don't necessarily give him a lot of credit but I believe he had a massive role in that 2-2 draw that we secured, away from home, against England. He has worked a lot with Azhar, Asad and Sarfraz who all have become the backbone of our test team which is one of the major achievements during his stint.

When Azhar was coming off age, he couldn't sweep the ball nor could Asad play the incoming delivery off a pacer however grant tweaked them to the point where both these batsmen have now a century each in England and Australia, heck if I am not too mistaken Azhar has a double ton there as well.

This is the type of coach we need, someone who knows how to make minor adjustments that would complement the natural flair and talent of our batsmen. We do not need a batting coach who would teach the batsmen of their inability to close the bat-pad gap or to know which balls to leave and which balls to play at- that is something that needs to be done at the junior level, however what we need is someone who knows how to break down a fourth innings chase, how to set targets in 50 over cricket, how to attack during the 3rd PP against a sepecific opponent etc etc. We need that sort of a guy. At the moment I am not too sure who the best fit is in this climate but I wouldn't necessarily want any Pakistani to be working with our lot, they always have a habit of ruining things + too much past baggage.

Great analysis Waqas bro.... I totally agree with ur views regarding the commendable job done by Grant Flower with the team thus far..... Almost all the batsmen are really happy with him.... I wish he's allowed to stay until the World Cup..... However, if he's not retained, I wish someone with the knowledge of technology should be hired.... Be it from Australia, England, etc etc..... Loved your analysis..... Btw I'm from Kashmir (Indian Occupied)..... But a huge fan and a supporter of the Pakistan Cricket Team....

 

[khurram39]

Recently saw some pics with Inzi and off the field he can get good instructions from him.

 

[bilalmasaud]

Whatever his personality faults to call him a 2nd tier batsmen is, frankly, ignorant. He was one of the most stylish batsmen of his generation, and the numbers show he backed up style with substance. To be honest, I don't think PCT has produced as elegant a batsmen since.

agreed on most of the above... my point was an observation of why people underrate him not a personal opinion of his caliber

 

[mak36]

agreed on most of the above... my point was an observation of why people underrate him not a personal opinion of his caliber

Yes I know you were making an observation, rather than stating your own opinion. Perhaps I wasn't clear enough- my point was those who underrate him simply because they don't like his personality are doing themselves a disservice. That's to say they are pinning themselves to a reasoning which doesn't hold up.