[EXCLUSIVE] Azhar Mahmood "Pakistan still lack game-awareness"

[MenInG]

Former Pakistan all-rounder spoke to Saj on the following topics:

What went wrong with Pakistan's batting against India?
Why aren't Shaheen Shah Afridi and Shadab Khan firing on all cylinders?
The brilliance of Rohit Sharma
Why can't Pakistan beat India in 50-over World Cup matches
India's strength in depth
Can Pakistan respond to the India loss by defeating Australia?

 

[SpiritOf1903]

What's new?

After 12 overs there were signs of tackiness in the pitch.

 

[Asad T]

Good interview; I like the technicalities that he brings into his analysis

- "If the ball isn't swinging, its important for Shaheen to drag his length back to 7-9 meters. He should also attack the stumps more."
- "Shadab has a problem with his back leg, it points towards square leg as opposed to fine leg when he is at the crease."

I hope they listen to him

 

[ask_analyse_act]

The brilliance of Rohit Sharma , he was immaculate with his captaincy and approach.. He seems to be eyeing the CWC trophy with a blitz... His game awareness was remarkable .

This Indian team which looks little out of sorts , rolling all over the place cant make into the knock out stages in ICC tourneys and also an unsettled middle order , KL Rahul , Bumrah and Pant injured, bringing Dhawan back and so on was going since 2021... everything put to bed now..

In this match from the beginning , his captaincy seems spot on.. He didnt take Siraj out when he was going for runs in his first spell and he got the wicket of Shafique.. then when Babar and Rizwan were milking spinners , he brought him again and took the wicket of Babar and when Kuldeep got 2 ( Saud and Ifthikhar ) in 1 over , he went for the kill and brought Bumrah back his best strike bowler who took another 2 which made the scorecard look 171-7 and killed the game for Pak.

Also opening the batting didnt hesitate to set the tone for chase, used the PP which he is doing really well after the no show against Aus... When captain plays fearless cricket that rubs off to other players...
80 runs in 60 balls when chasing 191 , no team could make a comeback after that phainty from there..

 

[Saj]

The brilliance of Rohit Sharma , he was immaculate with his captaincy and approach.. He seems to be eyeing the CWC trophy with a blitz... His game awareness was remarkable .

This Indian team which looks little out of sorts , rolling all over the place cant make into the knock out stages in ICC tourneys and also an unsettled middle order , KL Rahul , Bumrah and Pant injured, bringing Dhawan back and so on was going since 2021... everything put to bed now..

In this match from the beginning , his captaincy seems spot on.. He didnt take Siraj out when he was going for runs in his first spell and he got the wicket of Shafique.. then when Babar and Rizwan were milking spinners , he brought him again and took the wicket of Babar and when Kuldeep got 2 ( Saud and Ifthikhar ) in 1 over , he went for the kill and brought Bumrah back his best strike bowler who took another 2 which made the scorecard look 171-7 and killed the game for Pak.

Also opening the batting didnt hesitate to set the tone for chase, used the PP which he is doing really well after the no show against Aus... When captain plays fearless cricket that rubs off to other players...
80 runs in 60 balls when chasing 191 , no team could make a comeback after that phainty from there..

Yes absolutely.

I could think of a few players who would have thought, hmmm smallish total, I'll get a nice little 70 or 80 not out at a strike rate of 75.

But from ball one Sharma took full control and dominated the Pakistan bowlers.

Now that's what you call leading from the front.

 

[Bewal Express]

Good interview; I like the technicalities that he brings into his analysis

- "If the ball isn't swinging, its important for Shaheen to drag his length back to 7-9 meters. He should also attack the stumps more."
- "Shadab has a problem with his back leg, it points towards square leg as opposed to fine leg when he is at the crease."

I hope they listen to him

He should attack the off stump, not all the stumps if the ball isnt swinging. AM shows why PK lack the knowledge to beat good teams consistently.

 

[Saj]

Also I think it was @Bewal Express who has mentioned in the past regarding Shadab's leg position which is wrong. Something that Azhar Mahmood has mentioned in this interview.

 

[Bewal Express]

Also I think it was @Bewal Express who has mentioned in the past regarding Shadab's leg position which is wrong. Something that Azhar Mahmood has mentioned in this interview.

Shadab told my friend and his acquaintance that he needs a knee operation but it would mean a long lay off.
Also, I think Harbhajan picked up my point on his release, which comes from underneath the hand with a bit cut. That stops the ball spinning like it should. Harbhajan said that he doesn't use his ring finger to spin the ball. This is massive technical issue which everyone seems to have missed until I pointed it out.

 

[Kianig89]

Hindsight says Babar and Rizwan wanted to insure they score 50 odd runs individually to avoid any major backlash incase of defeat deep down they knew India are task too much for themselves, barring first 3 overs Pakistan were always behind the clock its was matter accident in waiting

 

[Runner Up]

We all know the problems. They are still playing old school cricket. Not utilising power play and forgot how to hit a six. Also Shaheen Afridi and Haris Rauf did not try to bowl yorkers. I dont see Pakistan is reaching to the Semi Final. They are still good in T20 though.

 

[Asad T]

Shadab told my friend and his acquaintance that he needs a knee operation but it would mean a long lay off.
Also, I think Harbhajan picked up my point on his release, which comes from underneath the hand with a bit cut. That stops the ball spinning like it should. Harbhajan said that he doesn't use his ring finger to spin the ball. This is massive technical issue which everyone seems to have missed until I pointed it out.

This is a comparison between the delivery strides of Warne, Rashid Khan, Usama Mir, and Shadab.

From this, it's quite evident that upon release, Shadab's front foot points towards square leg, whereas the other spinners have their front foot pointing towards fine leg / the keeper). This is what Azhar Mahmood was pointing out, I think.

With regards to the back foot -- in theory, you want that faily parallel to the crease as you land on the popping crease, Warne and Mir to this well, while Shadab's is more towards fine leg.

Again, there are many ways to skin a cat, there are many unconventional styles in our great game. But if he is bowling a lot of full tosses and half trackers, then he probably needs to reassess the basics

 

[hitthestump]

Azhar needs to return as bowling coach and needs to kept on for a good 2-3 years.

Having random SENA players in our coaching set up hasn’t yielded anything at all.

Yousuf at batting coach, Azhar as bowling coach and let them both stay there.

 

[Itachi]

This is a comparison between the delivery strides of Warne, Rashid Khan, Usama Mir, and Shadab.

From this, it's quite evident that upon release, Shadab's front foot points towards square leg, whereas the other spinners have their front foot pointing towards fine leg / the keeper). This is what Azhar Mahmood was pointing out, I think.

With regards to the back foot -- in theory, you want that faily parallel to the crease as you land on the popping crease, Warne and Mir to this well, while Shadab's is more towards fine leg.

Again, there are many ways to skin a cat, there are many unconventional styles in our great game. But if he is bowling a lot of full tosses and half trackers, then he probably needs to reassess the basics

Disrupting balance of the body upon release? to much stress on one foot? or something else?

 

[Bewal Express]

This is a comparison between the delivery strides of Warne, Rashid Khan, Usama Mir, and Shadab.

From this, it's quite evident that upon release, Shadab's front foot points towards square leg, whereas the other spinners have their front foot pointing towards fine leg / the keeper). This is what Azhar Mahmood was pointing out, I think.

With regards to the back foot -- in theory, you want that faily parallel to the crease as you land on the popping crease, Warne and Mir to this well, while Shadab's is more towards fine leg.

Again, there are many ways to skin a cat, there are many unconventional styles in our great game. But if he is bowling a lot of full tosses and half trackers, then he probably needs to reassess the basics


View attachment 137681

All those are good but it's the release that is the real problem. It stops him spinning the ball sharply

 

[Asad T]

What disadvanatage the foot direction may bring?

Disrupting balance of the body upon release? to much stress on one foot? or something else?

By coming in with the back foot perpendicular with the popping crease and then straightening the fornt foot you can generate more thrust and momentum with your hips. This lightens the load off the back, and you'll probably get the ball to fizz a lot more.

Try it at home and you'll see what I mean

 

[Saj]

Azhar needs to return as bowling coach and needs to kept on for a good 2-3 years.

Having random SENA players in our coaching set up hasn’t yielded anything at all.

Yousuf at batting coach, Azhar as bowling coach and let them both stay there.

I think he will only come back if they offer him the Head Coach role.

 

[Visaal-E-Yaar]

By coming in with the back foot perpendicular with the popping crease and then straightening the fornt foot you can generate more thrust and momentum with your hips. This lightens the load off the back, and you'll probably get the ball to fizz a lot more.

Try it at home and you'll see what I mean

It will also increase his speed by 4-5 kph?

 

[Flat_Track_Bully]

Azhar needs to return as bowling coach and needs to kept on for a good 2-3 years.

Having random SENA players in our coaching set up hasn’t yielded anything at all.

Yousuf at batting coach, Azhar as bowling coach and let them both stay there.

I agree, I feel like the bowling coach position has become more like an internship for inexperienced new coaches. This is not the arena to gain experience, go get it in domestic cricket.

 

[daytrader]

A bit worrying when a bowling coach points out that batting is Pakistan's stronger suit this tournament and that the bowlers will need to buck up. I guess he feels the last game was an anomaly and isn't expecting such batting collapses. Although Abdullah and Saud have been reassuring, we need Babar back in form.

 

[vprasanna83]

Former Pakistan all-rounder spoke to Saj on the following topics:

What went wrong with Pakistan's batting against India?
Why aren't Shaheen Shah Afridi and Shadab Khan firing on all cylinders?
The brilliance of Rohit Sharma
Why can't Pakistan beat India in 50-over World Cup matches
India's strength in depth
Can Pakistan respond to the India loss by defeating Australia?

He is so much more sensible than the other all rounder from the 90s Abdur Razzaq.

 

[pakistani pride]

A bit worrying when a bowling coach points out that batting is Pakistan's stronger suit this tournament and that the bowlers will need to buck up. I guess he feels the last game was an anomaly and isn't expecting such batting collapses. Although Abdullah and Saud have been reassuring, we need Babar back in form.

Babar is so overrated, he just cant perform with regards to games that matter, T20s or ODIs. Even if he does score it will be like the last game vs India. We all know he cant play (leg) spin. 4 years have passed since K Yadav bowled him (WC 19). He still cant play or pick his bowling. That tells you all you need to know.

After the WC PCB can arrange series vs Zimbabwe and WI. This will allow Babar to hit meaningless 100 and the tik tok videos/pr machine will be back in full force.

 

[Saj]

Another interesting point he made was the lack of experience of guys like Saud Shakeel.

Another valid point which begs the question why hasn't he played more ODIs and has now been thrown into a World Cup tournament?

 

[Visaal-E-Yaar]

Another interesting point he made was the lack of experience of guys like Saud Shakeel.

Another valid point which begs the question why hasn't he played more ODIs and has now been thrown into a World Cup tournament?

Very much valid point.

 

[ataullah]

Also I think it was @Bewal Express who has mentioned in the past regarding Shadab's leg position which is wrong. Something that Azhar Mahmood has mentioned in this interview.

Is shadab's leg ok in T20's? Consistency is his main issue due to lack of 1st class cricket

 

[shariqnoor]

Shadab told my friend and his acquaintance that he needs a knee operation but it would mean a long lay off.
Also, I think Harbhajan picked up my point on his release, which comes from underneath the hand with a bit cut. That stops the ball spinning like it should. Harbhajan said that he doesn't use his ring finger to spin the ball. This is massive technical issue which everyone seems to have missed until I pointed it out.

I've been a leg spinner all my life and the ring finger is the exact finger you use to spin the ball. If you aren't using that, then you are clearly not gripping the ball correctly in the first place. Also if you flick your wrist too hard to bowl quick, invariably you will end up bowling a short ball which is what Shadab consistently does.

 

[Bewal Express]

I've been a leg spinner all my life and the ring finger is the exact finger you use to spin the ball. If you aren't using that, then you are clearly not gripping the ball correctly in the first place. Also if you flick your wrist too hard to bowl quick, invariably you will end up bowling a short ball which is what Shadab consistently does.

His release doesn't allow the ring finger to put revs on the ball.

 

[shariqnoor]

His release doesn't allow the ring finger to put revs on the ball.

It's a massive flaw. I don't know when that crept into his action because I remember him spinning the ball big in the WI T20 series when he newly came into the side. He used to spin both the leg break as well as the googly.

 

[Bewal Express]

It's a massive flaw. I don't know when that crept into his action because I remember him spinning the ball big in the WI T20 series when he newly came into the side. He used to spin both the leg break as well as the googly.

He was never a sharp spinner but he was better than this non spinning tripe. On a side note, my friend found him to be very humble

 

[nish_mate]

Genuine Q why doesnt Ahar work with PCB et up? Not been approached or not in good books of current set up? Her was taking sense and surely would do a better job than the current bowling coach of Pakistan?

 

[pakistani pride]

It's a massive flaw. I don't know when that crept into his action because I remember him spinning the ball big in the WI T20 series when he newly came into the side. He used to spin both the leg break as well as the googly.

T20 CRICKET. He plays all the leauges available. They (PCB) need to tell him to focus on red ball cricket, 4 day games. That will allow him to actually learn the art of bowling again.

 

[FearlessRoar]

Pakistan is lacking game awareness since 2003. We are not adopting new trends of cricket. We have not good infrastructure and facilities to meet the requirements of modern cricket.

 

[Saj]

Genuine Q why doesnt Ahar work with PCB et up? Not been approached or not in good books of current set up? Her was taking sense and surely would do a better job than the current bowling coach of Pakistan?

He's got coaching jobs at Surrey, Oval Invincibles, T10 League, Islamabad United etc.

He's probably happy with those jobs at the moment.

 

[Cricket Warrior]

lack of game awareness is the mahor concer but there is also a noticeable deficiency in intent among the players.

They tend to hesitate when attempting any big shots due to the fear of getting dismissed.

 

[nish_mate]

He's got coaching jobs at Surrey, Oval Invincibles, T10 League, Islamabad United etc.

He's probably happy with those jobs at the moment.

Thanks for getting back Saj. But do you think under a more stable PCB set up Azhar can be lured to Pakistan senior team? Surely he's a better candidate than Shaun Taits and other foreign bowling coaches? Or he's happily settled in UK and wants more stress free roles?

 

[Saj]

Thanks for getting back Saj. But do you think under a more stable PCB set up Azhar can be lured to Pakistan senior team? Surely he's a better candidate than Shaun Taits and other foreign bowling coaches? Or he's happily settled in UK and wants more stress free roles?

I think he would want the Head Coach role in future, rather than the bowling coach role.

Perhaps if that opportunity came, he'd consider it.

 

[MenInG]

Same approach vs Afghanistan today, let's hope it gets us a positive result.

 

[IAJ]

There is no planning at all. All the changes they made are only made on the basis of last match. For instance, if bowling first in the last match did not work, let's bat first now, that's it, not looking at conditions at all. This is only an example for explaining how they seems to think. I am not saying batting first was a mistake but just highlighting the thought process.

I really don't understand what the coaches and those with laptops are doing? Or are the players so stupid that they don't learn anything? How can one bowler keep bowling same trash in every single match? They have no plans against batsmen, they don't pick up their weaknesses, nothing. It seems like just turn up on the ground and throw the ball or swing the bat.

Just look at AFG today. They saw the conditions and dropped their premium fast bowler and brought on an 18 years old spinner and he delivered right away with important wickets. This is how you plan according to conditions and opposition.

 

[Saj]

Better game awareness would have seen them attack the likes of Nabi more.

Better game awareness would have seen them stop the quick singles and ones being turned into 2s.

Better game awareness would have seen better captaincy at key moments.

Better game awareness would have seen them not waste reviews.

 

[TheSultan]

If only our ex players had such clarity of mind when they had positions of power.

Over the last few days we’ve heard some very sensible points from Azhar, from Misbah etc etc.

But when they had positions, what did they actually do?

We shouldn’t be lured in to this trap of someone talking sense and saying - hey we need this guy back!

And let’s face it, it’s not rocket science is it?

Most of us have been saying the same thing. Have more game awareness, attack the spinners, put them off their line, play with more aggression!

Why can’t anyone get our boys to do this?

 

[pak4life]

This obsession with taking it deep has allowed bowlers to settle into a nice rhythm in the middle overs. It happened against India and again with Afghanistan. They gave an 18 year far to much respect.

 

[Saj]

This obsession with taking it deep has allowed bowlers to settle into a nice rhythm in the middle overs. It happened against India and again with Afghanistan. They gave an 18 year far to much respect.

And allowed Nabi to easily bowl his 10 overs for 31 runs.

Poor awareness and a lack of urgency.

 

[Savak]

Better game awareness would have seen them attack the likes of Nabi more.

Better game awareness would have seen them stop the quick singles and ones being turned into 2s.

Better game awareness would have seen better captaincy at key moments.

Better game awareness would have seen them not waste reviews.

Better game awareness would have made the people realize from Day one that Babar Azam is not fit to be captain of even a club team as his Karachi Kings captaincy stint showed.

 

[Saj]

Better game awareness would have made the people realize from Day one that Babar Azam is not fit to be captain of even a club team as his Karachi Kings captaincy stint showed.

That's not game-awareness.

That's down to the people running Pakistan cricket.

 

[MenInG]

Game awareness 101:

Ramiz Raja "Wickets went down and the tailenders have been absolutely mindless of the fact that they need to play out 50 overs. Nawaz trying a strike when it was not on and that has been the story of Pakistan in this World Cup - not good enough game-awareness"

 

[Saj]

Wasted 20 balls at the end of the innings.

Wasted so many balls where they could have taken singles - instead there were 156 dot balls when Pakistan batted.

Ordinary cricket.

 

[hur rizvi]

Nawaz and wasim at the end were awful. No self awareness that even staying there would have gotten them 15 runs minimum

 

[Saj]

If they had batted 50 overs they would most probably have won this match.

Criminal not batting your full quote of overs.

 

[Saj]

For those who still think our batting was fine against South Africa:

Mickey Arthur "I don't think we've batted well enough yet as a unit. Yeah, I think that pitch, certainly par on that pitch is 300 at least. So, we haven't put together enough runs. And then we haven't put together a bowling performance that goes with it. So tonight, I thought was our best bowling performance of the competition. Thought we bowled really well, but I still thought we were under par in terms of the runs that we had."

 

[Saj]

Look at India today.

Struggling on a tricky surface, yet they made sure they batted the full 50 overs with a combination of aggression from Rohit and Yadav combined with lower order batters who hung around.

20 or 30 runs at the end that could still be important.

 

[Savak]

Look at India today.

Struggling on a tricky surface, yet they made sure they batted the full 50 overs with a combination of aggression from Rohit and Yadav combined with lower order batters who hung around.

20 or 30 runs at the end that could still be important.

Mohammad Nawaz in particular should not be picked for Pakistan ever again. Against Australia Shaheen was telling him to play out Zampas final delivery and he got stumped of the next delivery.

The shot Nawaz played against South Africa was unforgivable given the situation, the fact he was the last recognized batsman and there were still 5 overs left to play. Nawaz is not a teenaged debutant, we are talking about a guy who has been playing for the last 7 years for Pakistan and atleast 10 years in our domestic system. His body language is so pathetic that it spreads to the entire team.

The PCB should have identified a long time ago that he was not worth investing in. The amount of games he has choked and lost for Pakistan is in front of everyone.

 

[Saj]

Mohammad Nawaz in particular should not be picked for Pakistan ever again. Against Australia Shaheen was telling him to play out Zampas final delivery and he got stumped of the next delivery.

The shot Nawaz played against South Africa was unforgivable given the situation, the fact he was the last recognized batsman and there were still 5 overs left to play. Nawaz is not a teenaged debutant, we are talking about a guy who has been playing for the last 7 years for Pakistan and atleast 10 years in our domestic system. His body language is so pathetic that it spreads to the entire team.

The PCB should have identified a long time ago that he was not worth investing in. The amount of games he has choked and lost for Pakistan is in front of everyone.

100% right.

And this is what we call game awareness.

Knowing what to do when the pressure is on and at various times of the game. When to attack, when to defend, when to see out the overs and squeeze out important runs.

 

[FearlessRoar]

Saj's Remarks about contrasting performances of Pakistan's lower order and India's lower order highlight the significance of these skills.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1718659016048427287

 

[Saj]

Grant Bradburn today regarding the match v South Africa:

And part of the admission for us is that we didn't have our batsmen going quite deep enough in that innings, and we probably left 20 to 30 runs out in the middle. And certainly 310 to 315, I think, in that game would have been sufficient to bring that game to a W for Pakistan.

Absolutely ludicrous for players who have played hundreds of matches to not have the basic understanding to bat the full 50 overs.

 

[Saj]

And the difference between winning World Cups and not winning them isn't always the skill level.

It's cricketing intelligence and game-awareness at key times in a match.

 

[FearlessRoar]

As per media reports, Former all-rounder Azhar Mehmood is tipped to be a candidate for the position of assistant coach of Pakistan cricket team.

 

[Cricket Warrior]

Our boys not only lack game awareness but also lack skills.

 

[FearlessRoar]

Rolling back the years

 

[BouncerGuy]

Assistant coach is working hard with the Men in Green ahead of the all-important England series.

 

[Muhammad Saad]

Just game awareness? we lack planning , talent , unity and mental toughness as well.

 

[Muhammad Saad]

players like Mushtaq Ahmed , Sarfraz , Aqib Javed ,Ijaz were not the best players or star of their teams but they had that fighting spirit and ability to clinch the match from opposing team jaws which now even our star players missing.