- Joined
- Apr 13, 2025
- Runs
- 1,883
In this exclusive interview, Azharullah, one of Yorkshire’s high-performance coaches, shares insights on his role in developing the county’s next generation of fast bowlers. The former first-class cricketer reflects on structural gaps in PCB’s development system, Yorkshire’s cultural transformation, his mission to unlock Asian talent in county cricket — and much more.
Key revelations include:
Azharullah's Career
Watch full interview with Saj here:
Key revelations include:
Azharullah's Career
- He had a 14-year first-class career in Pakistan and England, where he took 383 wickets.
- He played club cricket in North England before joining Northamptonshire, and was part of the T20 blast-winning squad.
- He did not have a conventional path to first-class cricket, as he did not play any under-19 or representational cricket until he was an adult.
- He attributes his success to his resilience and a never-give-up attitude.
- He is a high-performance coach and leads the fast-bowling program for players from age 13 up to the academy level, until they earn professional contracts.
- He also identifies new talent, even as young as 10 and 11 years old.
- When identifying talent, he looks for fundamentals like pace, swing, lateral movement, and bounce.
- He explains that Yorkshire has a culture of deep cricket and a strong network for identifying and nurturing talent. In the last year, over 1,400 kids came for observation, and they create a competitive environment for them.
- He compares the cricket systems in England and Pakistan, stating that the English system is very structured with a long-term player development program, while the Pakistani system is not.
- In England, they train players through the winter from November to March and have a structured program of fixtures.
- He notes that Pakistan has not invested in long-term player development, coach education, or sports science, and their domestic cricket is not consistent.
- He discusses the efforts Yorkshire is making to increase the number of Asian cricketers in their system.
- He has worked to identify why they were missing out on talent from the Asian community and has increased transparency and inclusion.
- He states there has been a 40% increase in kids from the Asian community, with several players, like Jajakas and Yash, being signed.
- He mentions that Yorkshire's new team, led by Darren Gough and Otis Gibson, has made a conscious effort to make the club more inclusive following the Azim Rafiq affair.
- He is currently developing himself by learning about white-ball cricket, data, science, and injury prevention, and is ready to step up to a franchise or a bigger role in county cricket.
Watch full interview with Saj here:
