"Mohammad Azharuddin called me before this Test match & spoke to me about my batting" : Younis Khan

[Abdul]

"Mohammad Azharuddin called me before this Test match & spoke to me about my batting" : Younis Khan

Younis Khan speaking at the end of 4th Test match


Whenever Pakistan wins against top team, I always feel happy and proud to contribute

I just motivated the tailenders that we can win if we try here, it was a great effort

It was a surprise for me in the way I got out in this series

I got a surprise call from Mohammad Azharuddin who advised me to stay in my crease and it worked for me

 

[LowKiiSavage]

Yeah, just heard it. Brilliant.

 

[SpiritOf1903]

Intriguing.

 

[pakistanisgreat]

Great stuff by Azhar to call him and by YK to mention it!!

Brilliant

 

[The_KING]

Always admired Azhar bhai so nice of him to give a helping call to Younis bhai.

 

[the Great Khan]

Indians can take some credit for this now lol...

 

[#GreenRoars]

Brilliant by Azharuddin, and glad Younis used his advise.

 

[Slog]

maybe not the best idea to mention this publicly considering Azharuddin's past and how we are trying to remove that stain from our reputation.


but who cares )

 

[Suleiman]

Lol thought it was random.

Just for good PR and to show we don't associate with fixers anymore, he can just say Imran Hashmi called him as Azhar or something.

 

[Adil_94]

When i heard phonecall from India i thought it would be Dravid or someone like that but when i heard Azharuddin called him i was like wth.

 

[Gabbar Singh]

Taking a call from a character like Azhar in the middle of a test series? Not sure that's something I'd be shouting from the rooftops about.

 

[WhenSultansBowled]

Azharuddin was a top bat from India in 90s. He should've called Younis earlier tho

 

[shaz619]

Taking a call from a character like Azhar in the middle of a test series? Not sure that's something I'd be shouting from the rooftops about.

When you say it like that ))

 

[LowKiiSavage]

Taking a call from a character like Azhar in the middle of a test series? Not sure that's something I'd be shouting from the rooftops about.

Hilarious.

 

[miandadrules]

Made all in the Sky team unsure how to handle that statement.

But fair play to him, if he did help him then its good of Younis to give him credit.

 

[JibranAnsari]

Hire azharuddin as batting coach.

 

[WhenSultansBowled]

Made all in the Sky team unsure how to handle that statement.

But fair play to him, if he did help him then its good of Younis to give him credit.

Even Rameez was a bit hesitant

 

[Bhaag Viru Bhaag]

Stay safe azhar if you have an account on any social media websites.

 

[Silverlion]

So no pakistani management/coaching staff receiving hefty amounts pointed this out to him and he had to wait for a call from a fixer.

Had he not received the call, the win would not be possible. Brilliant!

 

[shaz619]

Made all in the Sky team unsure how to handle that statement.

But fair play to him, if he did help him then its good of Younis to give him credit.

I think Gower's reaction was "Well what is the batting coach flower doing? I wonder how he felt about that but it obviously helped younis a great deal and worked for him"

 

[endymion248]

Azharuddin had probably placed a bet on Pakistan drawing the series

 

[emranabbas]

Azharuddin the traitor lol

 

[WhenSultansBowled]

Azharuddin the traitor lol

Hey, if Indian trundlers can get coaching sessions and bowling tips from Wasim then our batsmen at least deserve a random phone call

 

[Statsman]

Ask Azhar to call up Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan as well.

 

[Strike Rate]

Stay safe azhar if you have an account on any social media websites.

he recently created it and even posted his video lol
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Hi everyone <a href="https://twitter.com/azharflicks">@azharflicks</a> is my official account on twitter. Follow me <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Azhar?src=hash">#Azhar</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/AzharTrailer?src=hash">#AzharTrailer</a> <a href="https://t.co/ptsh0t8uzx">pic.twitter.com/ptsh0t8uzx</a></p>— Mohammed Azharuddin (@azharflicks) <a href="https://twitter.com/azharflicks/status/727034625529368576">May 2, 2016</a></blockquote>
<script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

 

[msb314]

maybe not the best idea to mention this publicly considering Azharuddin's past and how we are trying to remove that stain from our reputation.


but who cares )

I doubt anyone cares. Its like Salman Butt giving advice to others - it won't always be treated suspiciously.

 

[Cryin Out Loud]

Perhaps Salman and Azhar should form a Players Management company.

 

[Markhor]

Perhaps Salman and Azhar should form a Players Management company.

Salman Butt isn't anyone to be giving advice. No matter how much Junaids protests, he was a pathetic player who was routinely exposed outside Pakistan, and wasn't even anything special in Pakistan with an average of around 30 on phattas.

At least Azhar was a fine player in his own right.

 

[Varun]

Maybe we can do an Azhar - Wasim swap?

 

[in_cutter]

It undermines Grant Flower. YK should have kept that to himself.

 

[Markhor]

It undermines Grant Flower. YK should have kept that to himself.

YK gave credit to Grant Flower in his interviews to Sky, Channel 5 and BBC TMS yesterday.

 

[Pete Rose]

Misbah's press conference is quite interesting: asked about whether his team deserves to be no1 (yes, we do), whether shafiq at number 3 is permanent (yes, he wanted to more responsibility), and if england should tour bangladesh (very supportive from Misbah)

hopefully PP will upload.

 

[Mamoon]

What are we paying Arthur, Flower and Vernon Dursley for.

 

[cricketjoshila]

What are we paying Arthur, Flower and Vernon Dursley for.

Azhar was very good player of swing bowling.Not that adapt at playing short pitch stuff.So his advise to YK about handling swing in England may have been very useful.

And Azhar didnt try to take credit.YK mentioned his name and gave him credit.Then only did he speak out.And TBH Azhar doesnt need anything.

To be a great technical coach you need to know the minute details of that particular aspect of the game.And that amount of detailed knowledge only comes if you yourself have been a very good exponent of that aspect of the game.Grant Flower was a extremely avg test match player,he himself may not be aware of the minute details that a player needs to change,while someone like Azhar who was very good player is likely to be aware of such details and hence could help YK.

In the words of Sourav Ganguly,when he was talking about how Australian bowling coach is helping his team more than The Indian bowling coach his own team. "Taking wickets in international cricket is an art,you can only teach others that art if you know it yourself,Craig Mcdermott has been there done that,while the Indian bowling coach,well....."

I thing its very relevant in terms of batting as well.Pakistan will be better served if they appoint Inzy as batting coach.Even Salim Malik will be a good choice.Or find some international coach who was a good test batsman,Grant Flower doesnt cut it.


This is what i posted in the other thread.

 

[cricketjoshila]

Perhaps Salman and Azhar should form a Players Management company.

Only thing is Other was a very good player also,Salman not so much.

 

[WhenSultansBowled]

Azhar was very good player of swing bowling.Not that adapt at playing short pitch stuff.So his advise to YK about handling swing in England may have been very useful.

And Azhar didnt try to take credit.YK mentioned his name and gave him credit.Then only did he speak out.And TBH Azhar doesnt need anything.

To be a great technical coach you need to know the minute details of that particular aspect of the game.And that amount of detailed knowledge only comes if you yourself have been a very good exponent of that aspect of the game.Grant Flower was a extremely avg test match player,he himself may not be aware of the minute details that a player needs to change,while someone like Azhar who was very good player is likely to be aware of such details and hence could help YK.

In the words of Sourav Ganguly,when he was talking about how Australian bowling coach is helping his team more than The Indian bowling coach his own team. "Taking wickets in international cricket is an art,you can only teach others that art if you know it yourself,Craig Mcdermott has been there done that,while the Indian bowling coach,well....."

I thing its very relevant in terms of batting as well.Pakistan will be better served if they appoint Inzy as batting coach.Even Salim Malik will be a good choice.Or find some international coach who was a good test batsman,Grant Flower doesnt cut it.


This is what i posted in the other thread.

Well said. I can imagine Azhar watching the games live and wondering why is YK standing so far out and by 3rd test he would've thought: maybe I should give him a call and pass on tip. IIRC Azhar has scored 100s in England, so he recognized technical flaw immediately.

 

[Mamoon]

Azhar was very good player of swing bowling.Not that adapt at playing short pitch stuff.So his advise to YK about handling swing in England may have been very useful.

And Azhar didnt try to take credit.YK mentioned his name and gave him credit.Then only did he speak out.And TBH Azhar doesnt need anything.

To be a great technical coach you need to know the minute details of that particular aspect of the game.And that amount of detailed knowledge only comes if you yourself have been a very good exponent of that aspect of the game.Grant Flower was a extremely avg test match player,he himself may not be aware of the minute details that a player needs to change,while someone like Azhar who was very good player is likely to be aware of such details and hence could help YK.

In the words of Sourav Ganguly,when he was talking about how Australian bowling coach is helping his team more than The Indian bowling coach his own team. "Taking wickets in international cricket is an art,you can only teach others that art if you know it yourself,Craig Mcdermott has been there done that,while the Indian bowling coach,well....."

I thing its very relevant in terms of batting as well.Pakistan will be better served if they appoint Inzy as batting coach.Even Salim Malik will be a good choice.Or find some international coach who was a good test batsman,Grant Flower doesnt cut it.


This is what i posted in the other thread.

Not taking any credit from Azhar, but I wonder why it came down to this. The management should have rectified his issues before Azhar called him.

 

[Hawkeye]

I thing its very relevant in terms of batting as well.Pakistan will be better served if they appoint Inzy as batting coach.Even Salim Malik will be a good choice.Or find some international coach who was a good test batsman,Grant Flower doesnt cut it.

You're absolutely right, though. Yes, Azharuddin was a top bat.

And players like Saleem Malik who had to learn the art of batting themselves (like Azhar) can be the ones who can pass it on to our players.

Grant himself is mostly clueless, he hasn't been able to fix ANY of our bats who were having problems. In fact, those players have only regressed.

The others were performing just like they're doing now, before Grant joined.

 

[cricketjoshila]

Not taking any credit from Azhar, but I wonder why it came down to this. The management should have rectified his issues before Azhar called him.

May be because no one in the management was capable of spotting the issue let alone rectify it.

 

[coy0607]

Not taking any credit from Azhar, but I wonder why it came down to this. The management should have rectified his issues before Azhar called him.

Younis is a vet- their is nothing to 'fix' and I doubt someone can do that over the phone

I think its just a matter of giving confidence. Getting a surprise call from a former player can only help your confidence when you've been struggling

 

[Markhor]

You're absolutely right, though. Yes, Azharuddin was a top bat.

And players like Saleem Malik who had to learn the art of batting themselves (like Azhar) can be the ones who can pass it on to our players.

Grant himself is mostly clueless, he hasn't been able to fix ANY of our bats who were having problems. In fact, those players have only regressed.

The others were performing just like they're doing now, before Grant joined.

A poor batsman will be a poor batsman, a batting coach at international level can't turn water into wine. Shan Masood won't turn into a Justin Langer any time soon.

Azhar Ali, Asad Shafiq and Younis Khan all had technical issues of one kind on this tour and have resolved them. Azhar's head kept falling over onto the off-side and was losing his balance in first two Tests. Shafiq had a weakness against inswing whilst Younis's lack of balance at the crease and frenetic movements have been well documented.

Thankfully they've all worked these problems out and all have credited Grant Flower for working with them in the nets in their interviews.

Also if you look at the numbers, our Test batting has improved in every metric. Umar Farooq of Cricinfo listed them before the series . Pakistan's average runs per wicket was just 28.89 between January 2012 and February 2014. Since Flower's appointment in July 2014, it rose to 43.82.

Under him, Pakistan batsmen have converted 48.43% of half-centuries into centuries - 31 hundreds out of 64 50-plus scores - which is the most among all teams by a distance. South Africa and Australia are next with under 41% conversions. Under Flower, Pakistan's fourth innings average is also the highest among all teams.

Now either we can assess the numbers and listen to what the players who actually work with the guy to form a conclusion about Grant Flower's contributions or we can listen to PP armchair experts who haven't spent a day in the nets with him like joshila shooting from the hip on here.

 

[Rayyman]

he recently created it and even posted his video lol
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Hi everyone <a href="https://twitter.com/azharflicks">@azharflicks</a> is my official account on twitter. Follow me <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Azhar?src=hash">#Azhar</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/AzharTrailer?src=hash">#AzharTrailer</a> <a href="https://t.co/ptsh0t8uzx">pic.twitter.com/ptsh0t8uzx</a></p>— Mohammed Azharuddin (@azharflicks) <a href="https://twitter.com/azharflicks/status/727034625529368576">May 2, 2016</a></blockquote>
<script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

I thought that was Zulfiqar Babar.

 

[Rayyman]

Not taking any credit from Azhar, but I wonder why it came down to this. The management should have rectified his issues before Azhar called him.

Either they were too shy to tell a "legend" like Younis or Younis was too arrogant to listen to them. Azharuddin was a legend so that's why he had confidence to tell Younis. Younis would obviously listen to Azharuddin over Arthur and Flower.

 

[EliteCynical]

A poor batsman will be a poor batsman, a batting coach at international level can't turn water into wine. Shan Masood won't turn into a Justin Langer any time soon.

Azhar Ali, Asad Shafiq and Younis Khan all had technical issues of one kind on this tour and have resolved them. Azhar's head kept falling over onto the off-side and was losing his balance in first two Tests. Shafiq had a weakness against inswing whilst Younis's lack of balance at the crease and frenetic movements have been well documented.

Thankfully they've all worked these problems out and all have credited Grant Flower for working with them in the nets in their interviews.

Also if you look at the numbers, our Test batting has improved in every metric. Umar Farooq of Cricinfo listed them before the series . Pakistan's average runs per wicket was just 28.89 between January 2012 and February 2014. Since Flower's appointment in July 2014, it rose to 43.82.

Under him, Pakistan batsmen have converted 48.43% of half-centuries into centuries - 31 hundreds out of 64 50-plus scores - which is the most among all teams by a distance. South Africa and Australia are next with under 41% conversions. Under Flower, Pakistan's fourth innings average is also the highest among all teams.

Now either we can assess the numbers and listen to what the players who actually work with the guy to form a conclusion about Grant Flower's contributions or we can listen to PP armchair experts who haven't spent a day in the nets with him like joshila shooting from the hip on here.

POTW for me. Well done mate. Some excellent points there and fully agree

 

[Cricket World]

Azhar himself was helped by Zaheer with the grip while India was touring Pakistan and he made century after that

 

[cricketlover87]

Great Advice from Azhar. I hope indian team should benefit from his tips as well and soon I see him in a batting consultant role with BCCI.

 

[Braveheart]

Taking a call from a character like Azhar in the middle of a test series? Not sure that's something I'd be shouting from the rooftops about.

Exactly...you couldn't make it up)))

 

[abdulrafay33]

What are we paying Arthur, Flower and Vernon Dursley for.

hahahahaha first time I have got to agree with you...!! by the way what is the name of that Vernon Dursley in our management ??

 

[Mamoon]

hahahahaha first time I have got to agree with you...!! by the way what is the name of that Vernon Dursley in our management ??

Steve Rixon.

 

[MenInG]

I think Gower's reaction was "Well what is the batting coach flower doing? I wonder how he felt about that but it obviously helped younis a great deal and worked for him"

Hence the no love lost between two!

When your top batsman thanks someone else for improvement to his batting other than the batting coach of the side .....

 

[Shaka81]

I guess Azharuddin knew to play it safe and only give YK batting advice over the phone.... no chance of being threatened with a knife!

 

[Thunderbolt14]

Hence the no love lost between two!

When your top batsman thanks someone else for improvement to his batting other than the batting coach of the side .....

Well it’s interesting. YK clearly is willing to accept batting advice. The fact that he had to go to Azhar to get it sorted indicated Flower wasn’t really doing his job well.

 

[zacattakk]

Well it’s interesting. YK clearly is willing to accept batting advice. The fact that he had to go to Azhar to get it sorted indicated Flower wasn’t really doing his job well.

Or is it that Younis just doesn't respect Flower?

 

[Thunderbolt14]

Or is it that Younis just doesn't respect Flower?

Respect comes when you do your job well. Younis may be volatile but he is a good character at heart and respects good people who do their job well. Be it Woolmer, Lawson, his older brother who taught him to play cricket, or even Misbah.

The reason Younis is likely volatile is because between 2005-2007, he lost his father, two brothers, and then Woolmer who became a father figure to him. Added to the rampant fixing and other scandals in Pakistan cricket at the time, and dare I say even the possibility that Woolmer was murdered (which was a very serious possibility for over a year between 2007-2008 and could very well have resulted in mistrust within the dressing room), in addition to the fact that Younis has probably gotten very little psychological counseling or therapy as a result of our subcontinental culture when it comes to mental health.

Al these factors combine to tell a larger story.

 

[Rana]

Either they were too shy to tell a "legend" like Younis or Younis was too arrogant to listen to them. Azharuddin was a legend so that's why he had confidence to tell Younis. Younis would obviously listen to Azharuddin over Arthur and Flower.

Top post.

 

[shaz619]

Hence the no love lost between two!

When your top batsman thanks someone else for improvement to his batting other than the batting coach of the side .....

Just emphasises further what a colossal failure Grant was

 

[MenInG]

Just emphasises further what a colossal failure Grant was

But he was Pakistan batting coach.

Every time these players are asked they talk about constantly learning etc so why this reaction when someone is trying to help?

 

[gazza619]

Can someone send Azhar Ali’s phone number to Azharuddin?

 

[pratiktc]

Can someone send Azhar Ali’s phone number to Azharuddin?

The way he is batting even almighty will struggle to make Azhar Ali score 200

 

[Bhaijaan]

Azhar Bhai,

It is a request from entire cricket fans community that you please pass on more knowledge to youngsters and for God sake Azhar bhai, please pass on your batting class. Batting might have improved (debatable) but class is gone from the game.

Azhar bhai was THE most stylish batter ever, hands down.

 

[Hitman]

Azhar Bhai,

It is a request from entire cricket fans community that you please pass on more knowledge to youngsters and for God sake Azhar bhai, please pass on your batting class. Batting might have improved (debatable) but class is gone from the game.

Azhar bhai was THE most stylish batter ever, hands down.

An average of 36 away from home. Mind you, that average is away from home, not from Asia. Enough said!

 

[pratiktc]

An average of 36 away from home. Mind you, that average is away from home, not from Asia. Enough said!

If Pak can find 3 batsmen who can average 36 away from home to support Babar, that will also be a huge boost.

 

[Bhaijaan]

An average of 36 away from home. Mind you, that average is away from home, not from Asia. Enough said!

An average of 60+ in India.

Away average might not be legendary but he has quality knocks everywhere.

Statistical.compromises are made by players who emphasize more on style.

 

[Majid Khan]

I wonder if Azharuddin also called our Professor before this memorable test match :

https://www.espncricinfo.com/series...tan-1st-test-pakistan-tour-of-bangladesh-2015

That was a magnificent double century by Hafeez , although couldn’t help but notice Bangladesh scored almost 900 runs in that same test match, including being 300-0 at one point in their 2nd innings - must have been a belter.

 

[Bhaijaan]

I wonder if Azharuddin also called our Professor before this memorable test match :

https://www.espncricinfo.com/series...tan-1st-test-pakistan-tour-of-bangladesh-2015

That was a magnificent double century by Hafeez , although couldn’t help but notice Bangladesh scored almost 900 runs in that same test match, including being 300-0 at one point in their 2nd innings - must have been a belter.

Azhar bhai himself never could hit a double . Highest score 199

 

[Majid Khan]

Azhar bhai himself never could hit a double . Highest score 199

Azharuddin was the kind of batsman who often scored 70 or 80 runs that weighed more than 150s scored by others in terms of the impact they would have on the match situation, as usually he scored when his team needed it most, and more often then not this was against top bowlers and in difficult batting conditions - as otherwise if the batting conditions are paradise like and bowling mediocre then even lesser players can score big as shown in the scorecard I shared in my last post. This was the trademark of Hafeez - scoring runs in easy situations on flat decks against Zimbabwe/Bangladesh/Sri Lanka.