[EXCLUSIVE] “99% of domestic coaches in Pakistan have not even played proper cricket”: Shoaib Mohammad

[BouncerGuy]

In our latest exclusive interview with PakPassion, Shoaib Mohammad, former Pakistan Test cricketer and son of the legendary Hanif Mohammad, joined Saj and shared his candid insights on the current state of Pakistan cricket.

With an impressive career and years of experience in coaching, Shoaib spoke about the challenges faced by the national team, the technical flaws in modern-day batting, and what needs to be changed for Pakistan to regain its lost glory.

Main topics covered in this interview:

Modern batters’ lack of technical discipline: He emphasized that today’s batters prioritize aggression over technique, undermining their ability to thrive in Test cricket’s demanding format.

PCB’s flawed coaching structure: Highlighted the PCB’s reliance on inexperienced coaches, stressing that most lack high-level playing credentials, which hampers player development.

Abdullah Shafique’s need for technical refinement: Pointed out Shafique’s struggles with footwork and shot selection, urging him to adapt his approach for long-term success.

Saim Ayub’s potential: Praised Ayub’s "exceptional talent" and shot-making ability but emphasized the importance of patience and crease occupation to cement his place.

Babar Azam’s struggles: Acknowledged Babar’s dip in form but highlighted his class, comparing his phase to Greg Chappell’s 1981 slump and backing him to rebound.

India-Pakistan rivalry: The absence of regular clashes deprives players of a career-defining stage and fans of cricket’s "most exciting rivalry."

Shan Masood’s leadership vs. batting form: He spoke about Masood’s captaincy mindset but stressed the need for him to improve his batting to inspire confidence as a leader.

Watch the full interview here:

 

[RidiculousMan]

That's what I have been thinking all my life - how can a player who has underachieved in international cricket be able to coach teams?

Because their correlation in low. You can be an average player in your days but great coach.

 

[Major]

You dont need to be an international cricketer to be a coach. Every coach you see was not a high achiever in international cricket.

Infact someone like Mike Hesson was never a proper professional cricketer as he never played domestic.

However i do believe that club coaches need to have ICC level 2 or Level 3 coaching certificate that PCB provides

 

[The Bald Eagle]

It's true that Pakistan doesn't have many coaches with world class credentials.

 

[pratiktc]

Playing cricket successfully at FC or intl level does not translate into coaching ability.

It is more important to have standardized coaching training in todays day and age. BCCI over last decade has managed to do some reasonable train the trainers programs for domestic coaches on a wide scale and post covid a lot of certification training and programs have moved to online platforms which reduce costs.

PCB should be able to easily implement this formalization of coaching training. It is not an expensive task.

What is mainly needed is for Pakistan cricketing fraternity to move on from outdated logics that only successful players can teach or be learned from. It is more conducive to learn about accentuating outswing from a guy with sports science/biomechanics degree than to fawn over a legend who tells you to lock your wrist and flick it.

 

[BouncerGuy]

Some legendary cricketers are not good coaches. this is my opinion that being a legend of the game does not warrant that you can be great coach. But yes, if you are a coach, you should have some credentials. Cannot be anybody.

 

[baba ghazi]

players who have high level playing credentials will not coach domestic teams..

 

[Asad T]

Playing cricket successfully at FC or intl level does not translate into coaching ability.

It is more important to have standardized coaching training in todays day and age. BCCI over last decade has managed to do some reasonable train the trainers programs for domestic coaches on a wide scale and post covid a lot of certification training and programs have moved to online platforms which reduce costs.

PCB should be able to easily implement this formalization of coaching training. It is not an expensive task.

What is mainly needed is for Pakistan cricketing fraternity to move on from outdated logics that only successful players can teach or be learned from. It is more conducive to learn about accentuating outswing from a guy with sports science/biomechanics degree than to fawn over a legend who tells you to lock your wrist and flick it.

The PCB does coaching courses for aspiring coaches and you sometimes see headlines stating that "XYZ player has done and completed the PCB level 1 coaching course," etc

I can only assume (without evidence) that the PCB courses are terrible. I wonder how they compare to the ECB ones.

 

[BunnyRabbit]

Even if they have not played proper cricket, they should understand the basics of cricket and how to teach and correct the basics of the youngsters.

 

[BouncerGuy]

Even if they have not played proper cricket, they should understand the basics of cricket and how to teach and correct the basics of the youngsters.

For that, they gotta do some courses and playing cricket is very important TBH... Cannot play no cricket and become a coach for the same sport NO??

 

[BunnyRabbit]

For that, they gotta do some courses and playing cricket is very important TBH... Cannot play no cricket and become a coach for the same sport NO??

I don't think so every coach needs to have played cricket at FC level to become a good coach. Mike Hesson played 0 FC or LA cricket. We need to understand people won't go into cricket coaching unless they are really interested in cricket. Courses, communication, knowledge (about what's needed, figuring out what the player is doing wrong and how it can be fixed) teaching and cricketing philosophy, is what a coach needs. Obviously having played cricket at the highest level would come in handy as it gives them first hand experience of what it's like to be a player or how good you have to be to succeed in international cricket. And there would be a lot of things the specific person would have learned during his time in international cricket whether himself or through coaches but it isn't a deal breaker especially at domestic level coaches.
IMO domestic coaches need to be proficient in teaching basics and help the players at their level get to a certain level which would give them the best chance to succeed at international level. There's a lot of stuff that players need to learn themselves and not expect to be spoonfed by the coaches.

Pakistan's problems are when players graduate to international level with loose nuts and bolts. At that level it becomes difficult to change.

 

[FearlessRoar]

That is what I have been thinking—if you are not a legend of the game, how can you coach and produce a world-class team?