Long time reader, first time poster so please take it easy.
I am a huge fan of Pakistan cricket but the lack of decision making ability never ceases to surprise. YK was an abysmal T20 bat (mediocre ODI bat). Who on earth thinks the guy who threatened his own coach with a knife can impart batting wisdom on others. I can, perhaps, buy him as a test match batting consultant(maybe even coach) but T20? Come on. Lets put the blame for the recent series defeat where it belongs, Misbah and YK were both terrible T20 players and Waqar has no track record.
We really need to separate the coaching staff for test and limited overs teams. I really like the focus on test match cricket from the Pak establishment. Can we please keep this in mind as fans and judge the team fairly. I am really hoping for good things from the new look Pak test team and as a fan of test match cricket wouldnt want to see that boat being rocked because of a silly T20 defeat.
Personally speaking I dont take T20 cricket too seriously. I view it as an avenue to give young guys a chance to showcase their skills without too much pressure. Unfortunately too many fans are obsessed by IPL these days. I hope as Pakistan team fans we keep some perspective and give the new coaching staff a couple more series to settle into their roles. Which really are to improve the test team's performance.
Here is what it is.
From the intellect of many in PCB, the BIGGEST criteria of YK being the T20 batting coach is?
You guessed it right. He was the captain of 2009 T20 WC winning team, And that's it. Nothing can beat that!
But here is the actual reality.
EXCEPT for Rahul Dravid (the only good exception), it's a proven fact that a former great player is almost NEVER a good coach.
Viv Richards coached, Sachin Tendulkar Coached, Wasim Akram coached, Maradona Coached but Viv wasn't able to produce another Viv. Sachin was never able to produce another Sachin, Wasim was never able to produce another Wasim and Maradona was never able to produce another Maradona.
Someone needs to drill this into the heads of PCB admins that coaching
IS AN ALL TOGETHER DIFFERENT FIELD - and a former great player is almost NEVER a good coach. Why? It's a whole separate discussion. But the gist of it is, those legendary players are born with some sort of extra special natural talent which gives them a head start.
They then add the same amount of hard work that many other less talented players put, on their talent and these legendary players leave everyone in the dust.
And since they have this extra ordinary inborn talent, it's only a wishful thinking that they will be able to transfer this natural born talent to young kids. It NEVER happens.
Here is an example.
Take Wasim Akram. He is born with a natural alignment in this wrist position, his grip, his arm position, his shoulder strength, his arm ligaments, his elbow pivot, his ball trajectory, his neck position and his weight transfer during the action - everything is perfectly aligned; all naturally.
So what we see? Well, he is able to swing the ball like a banana even at this age. Watch that video where he bowled an inswinger to Atherton an indoor interview ... It's mind boggling.
On the other hand, take Jimmy Anderson or Tim Southee. Both spent years and years to actually LEARN all those dynamics to be able to swing the ball. And reached to the peak point of their careers; this peak of Jimmy or Southee? well, it was something that Wasim had at the beginning of his career. All naturally gifted!
There are tons of Wasim's coaching videos on YT, and 100's of kids and youngsters and experienced left arm and right arm bowlers have tried all those coaching tips but NONE can swing like Wasim. Wasim worked for years in India but wasn't able to produce 1/10 of his own.
Do you know why?
Because Wasim does not know the detail of ALL those dynamics that work in harmony to make the ball swing.
He never learned it all so he can't teach it all. He was simply born with it.
If you ask Jimmy Anderson or Tim Southee to teach the kids how to swing the ball, I bet he will do a better job than Wasim. Why because? Jimmy and Southee actually worked his rear ends off to learn it and hence they are able to teach it. And Wasim was simply born with it.
So I totally agree with you and I don't mean to sound like captain obvious but this stupid mindset of hiring a former great player and wish that he will boil an ocean for us is as stupid as it gets.
Coaching is altogether different specialty. It requires
EXTREMELY GOOD inter personal skills and man management skills. The coach must be someone who is easily approachable by the players who can CONFIDENTLY discuss the matters with him.
But many of our former greats acts like self entitled pharos with huge egos who keep on acting as an "all knowing mama ji's".
You can't convince them to be open to change and open up to new ideas. They are not approachable AT ALL. Players can't trust them to explain their weaknesses because it may mean being kicked out of team or being in the bad books of the coach.
What we need is someone who is a professional level 3 coach qualified from a coaching school in England or Australia and he must have a proven track record of making a difference on the international level. Preferably not a desi.
Seriously, I am watching the highlights of BBL these days and see that those local and domestic Aussie kids bat 10 times better than our national T20 batsmen. Their technique, bat speed, agility, fitness and stamina is on a whole new level. It's primarily because they have the right atmosphere and they have the right set of coaches.
