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Shoaib Malik speaking in a TV interview on ARY
Selection policies
"Anyone who says that he is not saddened after not being part of a touring squad will be lying"
"We have a system of liking and disliking which is something true in the rest of the world as well but seems to be a bit more in our culture"
"This is why, not only in cricket but we also lag behind others in other fields of life also"
Pakistan Cricket System
"The day things change in our system where more importance is given to skills rather than who a person knows (contacts), then things will improve"
"Of course this contact system cannot be eliminated completely so even a system where a 30-70 split for contacts-skills will be fine - At the moment, its the other way!"
"When Imran Khan became the PM, the country was in a state where there were other pressing problems apart from what was happening in sports; A lot of people felt that as an athlete, Imran Khan will come to power and improve the area of sports immediately - this is how a common man would think but in my view, there are bigger issues to resolve than just sports in Pakistan"
"PM Imran Khan did take some good decisions though, as he brought in Wasim Khan to improve Pakistan cricket; This was a very good decision and I feel that better things can happen if he is given full authority to do as he wishes"
Babar Azam's lack of influence in selection
"Babar Azam is like a younger brother to me, he has played a lot of cricket under me and also alongside myself so I am aware of his nature; so when he does take decisions (by himself), I will know that straight away, and I won't make any statements about it also"
"In the recent side that was selected, there were many cricketers who Babar wanted to have in his side; He wanted Imam, Haris, Imad, Amir, Wahab - but they are not part of the squad" [Not sure about why Amir mentioned as he has retired]
"So from what I know of Babar, these players would fit in the team combination that he had in his mind"
"Look there is nothing wrong with advice - everyone has their own opinions but the final decision on the selection of the side should be that of the captain alone because it's the captain who will fight it out on the ground with his team"
"Look at all teams around the world and wherever the captain runs the show, that team is on top; I have asked English players about this and they told me that the final decision on selection of the side is with Eoin Morgan"
Separate coaches for white-ball and red-ball
"I am not against anyone, but I have played for so many years for Pakistan so I can put forward my suggestions to say that this how I feel things can improve"
"If you have a white-ball coach who is an international (overseas) then that would be much better for us; This is because such coaches understand the psyche of players much better - our coaches don't always want the best for their players due to ego issues; So they may be worried that a certain player's record could come close or become better than you (as a coach)"
"In field of cricket there are ups and downs but (a good) coach will give you not just one or two but more chances"
Relationship with Misbah
"It's not a problem that Misbah is not bringing me in the side, as he must know better; I have no regrets about anything, I am sitting here today on behalf of cricketers who are struggling; Bring me back into the side or not - it doesn't matter to me; I respect everyone and if they feel I am needed for the side then bring me on"
"The statement that I made (on Twitter) was not done to show that I am against Misbah; That is not true; If I meet him, I will be the first one to say salam to him and our relationship will always be good"
His Own Future
"Cricketers have a lot of insecurities and when I tweeted those comments, a lot of people said that I had burnt my boats? I don't believe that as my faith is in Allah and in my skills, and on my hard work"
"Whatever is in my fate is in the hands of the Almighty and not in any human's control - I will have no regrets if I am not asked to play again; I would have felt more regret if I had not spoken on behalf of my fellow cricketers"
"I have in my mind to play in the T20 World Cup this year - I am working hard for that; As far as the T20 World Cup next year is concerned, its possible that we may have other players ready for that so I will see what I want to do after this year's T20 World Cup"
Selecting players too soon
"Do select players based on PSL as that is a good tournament and there is a lot of exposure but at least see a player's performances in 2 editions of the tournament to see how consistent he is; Don't select players based on good performances in 1 bowling spell, or one innings"
"So, assume if you do select someone due to an exceptional performance in PSL, then give him more chances and not discard him after one bad performance and say, we selected him too early"
"If you are selecting a bowler from PSL who has bowled at 140kph, he only knows how to bowl 4 overs, he has no idea how to bowl in a 5th over and so one"
"Only when your domestic cricket is strong will you get a good product from it who can play at the international level"
Misbah as Head Coach
"When Misbah was given all three positions, I was in favour of that because he had stopped playing cricket very recently and he would have power with him; However, he had no experience as a coach but I still felt he would be in control of matters"
"I had been very quiet on this matter because just like a cricketer comes into the national side and learns the trade, the same way Misbah would learn over time as well; But I am not seeing that and this is because I am getting a lot of feedback from cricketers who are telling me all this; I only spoke (on Twitter) now because it was needed - it was really needed"
"I am not against Misbah - it was me in the 2007 World Cup who brought him on and he was an excellent cricketer and a good human, I respect him a lot"
"But I feel Misbah needs more time and he should be asked to coach at the domestic level and then by all means, bring him back to the Pakistan side"
Important period in Pakistan cricket
"Down the line, we have to play 2 T20 World Cups and then we have a 2023 World Cup and these are very important 3 years for us"
"We have a new captain, and I totally agree that he should be captain for all formats and this is what I had advised the PCB and they did act on that advice"
"But now it's Babar's responsibility to make a team of his liking for each of the formats"
"When I took the decision to retire from Tests, I did that knowing that players like Babar and Haris were ready to take my place; I didn't want to drag my career in 3 formats; Its important to leave at the right time"
"I feel that Mohammad Hafeez is needed in the side - when we have an issue in the middle-order in ODI side then he must be played in the side; Also ask Hafeez to look after work with the other middle order batsmen with an eye on the 2023 World Cup; This is how we can also use experienced cricketers"
Waqar as a bowler versus Waqar as Coach
"If I give my true opinion then there could be some hurt; But to be honest, he wasn't good in the beginning, but he is a lot better now"
Quickfire Q&A
"Imam should be in the Test squad for the main reason that he is young, and the record he has in ODIs will allow him to do consistently well in Tests also"
"Babar Azam is currently Pakistan's best batsman without any doubt"
"What Shahid Afridi in his book that it was too early to make me a captain in 2007 was correct; I didn't understand things so well at that time, if I did, I would not have accepted to take on captaincy"
"I have a complaint about Sarfaraz which I have told him about also, is that he should have had 6-7 cricketers in his side who could win matches for him - so such players should not be let go, regardless of ups and downs along the way"
"I have played under many captains who used to take their own decisions, these were players like Wasim Akram, Waqar Younis, Inzamam-ul-Haq, Shahid Afridi; To become a captain and look to please others will not work - they will never be happy and you won't last as captain"
"I rate Chris Gayle, Virat Kohli and Babar Azam in T20s in that order; when it comes to ODIs, its Virat, Gayle and Babar"
"In Tests, best Pakistan batsmen I've played with were Inzamam-ul-Haq, Mohammad Yousuf and Younis Khan"
"I have said many thing today and taken some names on this show but I have no personal differences with those people and I apologize if they may have been hurt by what I said; I only said things that I feel can bring improvement to our cricket; I have no hard feelings against anyone and this will always be the case; I will always be there if my help is ever needed in whatever capacity"
Selection policies
"Anyone who says that he is not saddened after not being part of a touring squad will be lying"
"We have a system of liking and disliking which is something true in the rest of the world as well but seems to be a bit more in our culture"
"This is why, not only in cricket but we also lag behind others in other fields of life also"
Pakistan Cricket System
"The day things change in our system where more importance is given to skills rather than who a person knows (contacts), then things will improve"
"Of course this contact system cannot be eliminated completely so even a system where a 30-70 split for contacts-skills will be fine - At the moment, its the other way!"
"When Imran Khan became the PM, the country was in a state where there were other pressing problems apart from what was happening in sports; A lot of people felt that as an athlete, Imran Khan will come to power and improve the area of sports immediately - this is how a common man would think but in my view, there are bigger issues to resolve than just sports in Pakistan"
"PM Imran Khan did take some good decisions though, as he brought in Wasim Khan to improve Pakistan cricket; This was a very good decision and I feel that better things can happen if he is given full authority to do as he wishes"
Babar Azam's lack of influence in selection
"Babar Azam is like a younger brother to me, he has played a lot of cricket under me and also alongside myself so I am aware of his nature; so when he does take decisions (by himself), I will know that straight away, and I won't make any statements about it also"
"In the recent side that was selected, there were many cricketers who Babar wanted to have in his side; He wanted Imam, Haris, Imad, Amir, Wahab - but they are not part of the squad" [Not sure about why Amir mentioned as he has retired]
"So from what I know of Babar, these players would fit in the team combination that he had in his mind"
"Look there is nothing wrong with advice - everyone has their own opinions but the final decision on the selection of the side should be that of the captain alone because it's the captain who will fight it out on the ground with his team"
"Look at all teams around the world and wherever the captain runs the show, that team is on top; I have asked English players about this and they told me that the final decision on selection of the side is with Eoin Morgan"
Separate coaches for white-ball and red-ball
"I am not against anyone, but I have played for so many years for Pakistan so I can put forward my suggestions to say that this how I feel things can improve"
"If you have a white-ball coach who is an international (overseas) then that would be much better for us; This is because such coaches understand the psyche of players much better - our coaches don't always want the best for their players due to ego issues; So they may be worried that a certain player's record could come close or become better than you (as a coach)"
"In field of cricket there are ups and downs but (a good) coach will give you not just one or two but more chances"
Relationship with Misbah
"It's not a problem that Misbah is not bringing me in the side, as he must know better; I have no regrets about anything, I am sitting here today on behalf of cricketers who are struggling; Bring me back into the side or not - it doesn't matter to me; I respect everyone and if they feel I am needed for the side then bring me on"
"The statement that I made (on Twitter) was not done to show that I am against Misbah; That is not true; If I meet him, I will be the first one to say salam to him and our relationship will always be good"
His Own Future
"Cricketers have a lot of insecurities and when I tweeted those comments, a lot of people said that I had burnt my boats? I don't believe that as my faith is in Allah and in my skills, and on my hard work"
"Whatever is in my fate is in the hands of the Almighty and not in any human's control - I will have no regrets if I am not asked to play again; I would have felt more regret if I had not spoken on behalf of my fellow cricketers"
"I have in my mind to play in the T20 World Cup this year - I am working hard for that; As far as the T20 World Cup next year is concerned, its possible that we may have other players ready for that so I will see what I want to do after this year's T20 World Cup"
Selecting players too soon
"Do select players based on PSL as that is a good tournament and there is a lot of exposure but at least see a player's performances in 2 editions of the tournament to see how consistent he is; Don't select players based on good performances in 1 bowling spell, or one innings"
"So, assume if you do select someone due to an exceptional performance in PSL, then give him more chances and not discard him after one bad performance and say, we selected him too early"
"If you are selecting a bowler from PSL who has bowled at 140kph, he only knows how to bowl 4 overs, he has no idea how to bowl in a 5th over and so one"
"Only when your domestic cricket is strong will you get a good product from it who can play at the international level"
Misbah as Head Coach
"When Misbah was given all three positions, I was in favour of that because he had stopped playing cricket very recently and he would have power with him; However, he had no experience as a coach but I still felt he would be in control of matters"
"I had been very quiet on this matter because just like a cricketer comes into the national side and learns the trade, the same way Misbah would learn over time as well; But I am not seeing that and this is because I am getting a lot of feedback from cricketers who are telling me all this; I only spoke (on Twitter) now because it was needed - it was really needed"
"I am not against Misbah - it was me in the 2007 World Cup who brought him on and he was an excellent cricketer and a good human, I respect him a lot"
"But I feel Misbah needs more time and he should be asked to coach at the domestic level and then by all means, bring him back to the Pakistan side"
Important period in Pakistan cricket
"Down the line, we have to play 2 T20 World Cups and then we have a 2023 World Cup and these are very important 3 years for us"
"We have a new captain, and I totally agree that he should be captain for all formats and this is what I had advised the PCB and they did act on that advice"
"But now it's Babar's responsibility to make a team of his liking for each of the formats"
"When I took the decision to retire from Tests, I did that knowing that players like Babar and Haris were ready to take my place; I didn't want to drag my career in 3 formats; Its important to leave at the right time"
"I feel that Mohammad Hafeez is needed in the side - when we have an issue in the middle-order in ODI side then he must be played in the side; Also ask Hafeez to look after work with the other middle order batsmen with an eye on the 2023 World Cup; This is how we can also use experienced cricketers"
Waqar as a bowler versus Waqar as Coach
"If I give my true opinion then there could be some hurt; But to be honest, he wasn't good in the beginning, but he is a lot better now"
Quickfire Q&A
"Imam should be in the Test squad for the main reason that he is young, and the record he has in ODIs will allow him to do consistently well in Tests also"
"Babar Azam is currently Pakistan's best batsman without any doubt"
"What Shahid Afridi in his book that it was too early to make me a captain in 2007 was correct; I didn't understand things so well at that time, if I did, I would not have accepted to take on captaincy"
"I have a complaint about Sarfaraz which I have told him about also, is that he should have had 6-7 cricketers in his side who could win matches for him - so such players should not be let go, regardless of ups and downs along the way"
"I have played under many captains who used to take their own decisions, these were players like Wasim Akram, Waqar Younis, Inzamam-ul-Haq, Shahid Afridi; To become a captain and look to please others will not work - they will never be happy and you won't last as captain"
"I rate Chris Gayle, Virat Kohli and Babar Azam in T20s in that order; when it comes to ODIs, its Virat, Gayle and Babar"
"In Tests, best Pakistan batsmen I've played with were Inzamam-ul-Haq, Mohammad Yousuf and Younis Khan"
"I have said many thing today and taken some names on this show but I have no personal differences with those people and I apologize if they may have been hurt by what I said; I only said things that I feel can bring improvement to our cricket; I have no hard feelings against anyone and this will always be the case; I will always be there if my help is ever needed in whatever capacity"
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