Mohammad Wasim - The Head Coach

[Titan24]

Appointed head coach of Northern last year. Under him Northern went to the finals of QAE 2019 and won National T20 Cup 2019. Now in National T20 cup Northern has won 3 consecutive matches taking their overall run to 8 consecutive wins.

Its not the success he has achieved till now, its the way he has achieved it which has been impressive. He gave opportunities to youngsters and gave opportunities to almost every single player in the squad last year in one format or another.

He played a decisive role in the development of Haider Ali when he was given 7 FC matches as opener last year in QAE where he responded well too. He did the same for Zeeshan Malik by giving him a good run in QAE 19. Same with other young pacers and players in his squad.

Now he has possibly revolutionized Pakistan’s domestic cricket limited overs culture with a top 3 of Zeeshan, Ali Imran and Haider Ali. All three are young and know when and how to express themselves. It has been a spectacle to watch for most fans.

There have been good local coaches before but I think Mohammad Wasim has taken it to the next level by creating that perfect balance of winning the matches as well as producing the players for the national team and that too in a much tougher domestic competition with 6 teams now.

Definitely a coach to look out for in the future.

 

[Mir jibran]

Hes making a good case for himself for the future
Could be given a stint with national team

 

[Loralai]

Wasim has been a good coach but the best coach in Pakistan is still Abdur Rehman.

 

[HappyWarsFan]

This is why I like PCB giving chances to former players, we can develop some good domestic coaches which will benefit Pakistan in the future. Not good to rely on foreigners, try to develop some good domestic coaches

 

[Titan24]

Wasim has been a good coach but the best coach in Pakistan is still Abdur Rehman.

Yes he is a decent coach and has achieved success with Peshawar region. However,Southern Punjab has been disappointing till now. Some bowling selections in their main team have been pretty questionable. Didnt include Dilbar, Zia Ul Haq or a young performer Mohammad Imran who was second highest wicket taker in second XI national T20 cup in 2019. He needs to go back to the drawing board.

 

[Pacy with wisdom]

Wasim has been a good coach but the best coach in Pakistan is still Abdur Rehman.

We can see that with his talent identification in the ongoing t20 cup where a guy like Dilbar has been placed in the 2nd xi to make way for bhatti and Rahat.

 

[Titan24]

Islamabad United will have to look for a coach as Misbah isnt allowed to coach in PSL as per latest decision. Mohammad Wasim could be a perfect choice considering their culture and setup.

 

[MMHS]

Wasim can be a very good coach in making, but not based on this tournament. Northerns are by far best team for PAK domestic T20s and that draft is not balanced. From memory I see the team is like this -

Zeeshan
Imran
Haider
Shadab
Amin
Asif Ali
Imad (3)
Rohail Nazir †
Mohammad Amir
Haris Rauf
Tanveer
---------------------------------------------
Nawaz, Musa, Sohail Akhtar, Hammad

This team will compete with Rest of PAK comfortably under any Coach.

 

[Deewana Mastana]

Umpiring is also beyond pathetic this tournament.

 

[Titan24]

Wasim can be a very good coach in making, but not based on this tournament. Northerns are by far best team for PAK domestic T20s and that draft is not balanced. From memory I see the team is like this -

Zeeshan
Imran
Haider
Shadab
Amin
Asif Ali
Imad (3)
Rohail Nazir †
Mohammad Amir
Haris Rauf
Tanveer
---------------------------------------------
Nawaz, Musa, Sohail Akhtar, Hammad

This team will compete with Rest of PAK comfortably under any Coach.

Draft is influenced by the origin of cricketers as well. Amir, Rauf, Tanvir, Musa, Shadab, Imad, Nawaz, Hammad, Ali Imran are all from Islamabad-Pindi region. Not sure how many cricketers from a region are included by default in that region and how many actually go in the draft for coach to pick himself.

At the same time he surely drafted in Haider Ali and Zeeshan Malik which werent from the Northern region last year (Head coach had selection power in the draft) which were top performers for Northern in QAE and doing well in T20 as well. So one can say he has a good eye. Also Asif Ali and Sohail Akhtar werent from the Northern region.

He has already drafted in Mohammad Hurraira as extra player which can be beneficial for him in future.

So credit of good selection in the draft to make it into a solid unit should go to him to an extent. Not to forget in 4 day cricket on paper Northern was far from the best side but some good young picks and overall management of the players allowed Northern to reach final of that too.

 

[MMHS]

Draft is influenced by the origin of cricketers as well. Amir, Rauf, Tanvir, Musa, Shadab, Imad, Nawaz, Hammad, Ali Imran are all from Islamabad-Pindi region. Not sure how many cricketers from a region are included by default in that region and how many actually go in the draft for coach to pick himself.

At the same time he surely drafted in Haider Ali and Zeeshan Malik which werent from the Northern region last year (Head coach had selection power in the draft) which were top performers for Northern in QAE and doing well in T20 as well. So one can say he has a good eye. Also Asif Ali and Sohail Akhtar werent from the Northern region.

He has already drafted in Mohammad Hurraira as extra player which can be beneficial for him in future.

So credit of good selection in the draft to make it into a solid unit should go to him to an extent. Not to forget in 4 day cricket on paper Northern was far from the best side but some good young picks and overall management of the players allowed Northern to reach final of that too.

I wasn't aware of the draft system. But, if he is allowed to collect these players, then I can only say that the other Coach/selectors are not doing their job - they don't have any clue of PAK domestic players and T20 cricket as a whole. In that regard, yes, Wasim is better than others.

 

[LordJames]

Muhammad Wasim Coaching Watch

PTV and now Northern continue to do the basics right, why doesn't PCB look at appointing Muhammad Wasim at the NCA.

 

[TrentDevil]

Wasim was brilliant during his time at PTV (cricket team) also, someone who has always trusted the youngsters and given them enough chances to prove their worth.

 

[Markhor]

Northern arguably had the weakest batting lineup of all sides in the 2019 Quaid-e-Azam Trophy, but Mohammed Wasim coaxed them into the final, outperforming more fancied sides by encouraging a positive brand of cricket and giving the youngsters a proper run in the side.

Whereas many domestic coaches search for short-term results, Wasim prioritises Pakistan's long-term future by allowing young batsmen to occupy the key top four batting positions. This is in contrast to many PSL sides who are harming local batsmen who are pushed down the order by overseas players.

Not only has he defined clear roles for his players, I love how Wasim doesn't do injustice to any player, senior or youngster. Nobody can accuse him of partiality, personal bias, or liking and disliking.

For example, last season some complained he gave Naved Malik 2 games. In the QEA Trophy, he gave 3 matches to Afaq Raheem. Now I'm not saying they are worldies, but I just liked how Wasim gave them a fair shake. They didn't take their chance and he moved on.

 

[Titan24]

Not only has he defined clear roles for his players, I love how Wasim doesn't do injustice to any player, senior or youngster. Nobody can accuse him of partiality, personal bias, or liking and disliking.

For example, last season some complained he gave Naved Malik 2 games. In the QEA Trophy, he gave 3 matches to Afaq Raheem. Now I'm not saying they are worldies, but I just liked how Wasim gave them a fair shake. They didn't take their chance and he moved on.

Absolutely. No player can say he wasnt given a chance to prove himself.

 

[Titan24]

Shadab before and after every match has been indicating that they want to play cricket as per international level and it clearly reflects the Mohammad Wasim’s ideology of player development for national team while forming a winning team.

 

[Thunderbolt14]

Wasim can be a very good coach in making, but not based on this tournament. Northerns are by far best team for PAK domestic T20s and that draft is not balanced. From memory I see the team is like this -

Zeeshan
Imran
Haider
Shadab
Amin
Asif Ali
Imad (3)
Rohail Nazir †
Mohammad Amir
Haris Rauf
Tanveer
---------------------------------------------
Nawaz, Musa, Sohail Akhtar, Hammad

This team will compete with Rest of PAK comfortably under any Coach.

Draft is influenced by the origin of cricketers as well. Amir, Rauf, Tanvir, Musa, Shadab, Imad, Nawaz, Hammad, Ali Imran are all from Islamabad-Pindi region. Not sure how many cricketers from a region are included by default in that region and how many actually go in the draft for coach to pick himself.

At the same time he surely drafted in Haider Ali and Zeeshan Malik which werent from the Northern region last year (Head coach had selection power in the draft) which were top performers for Northern in QAE and doing well in T20 as well. So one can say he has a good eye. Also Asif Ali and Sohail Akhtar werent from the Northern region.

He has already drafted in Mohammad Hurraira as extra player which can be beneficial for him in future.

So credit of good selection in the draft to make it into a solid unit should go to him to an extent. Not to forget in 4 day cricket on paper Northern was far from the best side but some good young picks and overall management of the players allowed Northern to reach final of that too.

I wasn't aware of the draft system. But, if he is allowed to collect these players, then I can only say that the other Coach/selectors are not doing their job - they don't have any clue of PAK domestic players and T20 cricket as a whole. In that regard, yes, Wasim is better than others.

[MENTION=79064]MMHS[/MENTION] in addition to the above points, Zeeshan Malik and Ali Imran were nobodies before Mohammad Wasim. He selected and backed them to play their natural game.

Arguably Wasim is the single most important person in developing Haider. Easily he could have been treated like Abdullah Shafiq — Haider would make first class debut in 2022 and be unable to find a place to make his spot.

Next, Musa Khan has been written off by many but has been backed by Wasim over Mohammad Amir. The team is currently without Imad and Wasim has also backed Shadab Khan as captain which is a big move (could have easily given it to someone like Umar Amin based on “experience”).

In other words, yes this team will compete with any Rest of Pakistan side with or without Wasim (now). But Wasim is the architect - construction has finished, and Wasim is now merely managing which anyone can do (but still many Pak coaches fail to do).

 

[Thunderbolt14]

Haider had not even played the U19 world cup before his 2019 first class season. Under Wasim, he ended up scoring a century in the QAE final.

 

[Pacy with wisdom]

Haider had not even played the U19 world cup before his 2019 first class season. Under Wasim, he ended up scoring a century in the QAE final.

Excellently put.
Wasim has been instrumental in the introduction and development of all these youngsters. This team that we see has been developed and not just assembled by chance.

 

[The Viper]

There have been good local coaches before but I think Mohammad Wasim has taken it to the next level by creating that perfect balance of winning the matches as well as producing the players for the national team and that too in a much tougher domestic competition with 6 teams now.

I think this is the best part about Wasim. He is not afraid to back youngsters at the top of the order. Most teams are reluctant to play younger talent in the top 4, but Wasim has given them freedom to express themselves. Wish other coaches had the same courage.

 

[Savak]

Performance and track record ultimately speaks for itself and Wasim is gradually developing one. Even Ramiz cannot stop going gaga about how Northerns is his favorite team and he loves the confidence and belief with which they play the game and how they can win from any match situation and for this Wasim definitely deserves credit.

Wasim even when he was an analyst on TV was very good with his analysis and not scared to voice unpopular opinions and facts

 

[naseem]

Need to promote Rohail up the order..
Must drop Nawaz....
Must use data analysts to improve Shadab and Rauf game

 

[Thunderbolt14]

Need to promote Rohail up the order..
Must drop Nawaz....
Must use data analysts to improve Shadab and Rauf game

For team combination, he is fine where he is. Interchangeable with M Nawaz.

Keeping in mind his role in Pakistan’s future, should be batting at 6-7, but this is not possible as Asif Ali and Umar Amin consolidate the middle order.

As Northern consolidates its hold at the top of the rankings, they will be able to promote Rohail to give him batting practice (in which case I suspect he will come in at 5 after Shadab and before Umar Amin or Asif Ali).

Until then, I hope he will be promoted over Nawaz for the next few games to bat at 7.

 

[naseem]

For team combination, he is fine where he is. Interchangeable with M Nawaz.

Keeping in mind his role in Pakistan’s future, should be batting at 6-7, but this is not possible as Asif Ali and Umar Amin consolidate the middle order.

As Northern consolidates its hold at the top of the rankings, they will be able to promote Rohail to give him batting practice (in which case I suspect he will come in at 5 after Shadab and before Umar Amin or Asif Ali).

Until then, I hope he will be promoted over Nawaz for the next few games to bat at 7.

Lets hope so

 

[silentkiller187]

Good to hear positive comments about Wasim, don't know too much about him so i cannot add to this however it makes a change to hear of some promising coaches coming though the setup, about time we developed our own, with some modern day ideas and proper tactical nous/ outside the box thinking. lets hope he is given some chances in the PSL etc when the limelight is on him to see whether he stands up to scrutiny, Pakistan in my opinion needs separate coaches for ODI and tests, will be good for someone starting out to gain experience this way.

 

[MMHS]

[MENTION=79064]MMHS[/MENTION] in addition to the above points, Zeeshan Malik and Ali Imran were nobodies before Mohammad Wasim. He selected and backed them to play their natural game.

Arguably Wasim is the single most important person in developing Haider. Easily he could have been treated like Abdullah Shafiq — Haider would make first class debut in 2022 and be unable to find a place to make his spot.

Next, Musa Khan has been written off by many but has been backed by Wasim over Mohammad Amir. The team is currently without Imad and Wasim has also backed Shadab Khan as captain which is a big move (could have easily given it to someone like Umar Amin based on “experience”).

In other words, yes this team will compete with any Rest of Pakistan side with or without Wasim (now). But Wasim is the architect - construction has finished, and Wasim is now merely managing which anyone can do (but still many Pak coaches fail to do).

It's a very good news then - eventually, PAK has to move towards qualified local coaches, India already has done that. Next step for Wasim is to develop the FC team - from that Zone, Islamabad also has won two PSL, but can't recall much in FC cricket.

 

[Thunderbolt14]

[MENTION=79064]MMHS[/MENTION] Wasim developed the First Class team with the same pool of youngsters last season by giving opportunities to Haider Ali, Zeeshan Malik, Zeeshan Ashraf, and Rohail Nazir.

They entered the tournament as rookies and expected to finish last. Halfway through the 2019 QAE tournament, Northern were sitting in last place.

Under Wasim the youngsters found form in the second half of the tournament and an unbeaten streak landed them a place in the finals (that too on flat pitches with Kookaburra ball and most matches were resulting in tie).

It remains to be seen whether Wasim can replicate his work from last year and take Northern all the way to win this year.

 

[MenInG]

Full marks to Mohammad Waseem for rotating his squad so well - a lot of other coaches can learn from this,

 

[naseem]

Full marks to Mohammad Waseem for rotating his squad so well - a lot of other coaches can learn from this,

On the other hand KPK won't change a single player .......

 

[Syed1]

Supremely impressed with Muhammad Wasim. I wish we had him as national coach rather than shameless Misbah.

 

[Titan24]

10th consecutive win for Northern in T20s under Mohammad Wasim and that too while giving opportunities to new players and rotating the squad.

 

[shamaan]

Supremely impressed with Muhammad Wasim. I wish we had him as national coach rather than shameless Misbah.

In fink selector could be a good role for him hopefully they win the national cup to get some reckoning

 

[MenInG]

So how did it go for him in this tournament?

Looks like he did all the right things to get his side to semi-final but somehow managed to not take the right tactical discussions for the semis?

 

[Titan24]

It was excellent till the first leg with perfect composition but then in the second leg with new captain and bit too much changing of the core did have an impact I think. I like Wasim’s policy of giving everyone in the squad the chance but I dont think the core of the team should be tempered with. In my opinion Zeeshan and Ali Imran should have played all games and top 3 should have been tinkered as little as possible unless it was a forced change. Resting an rotating the pacers was understandable to an extent.

Also the combination for the final was questionable, going with 6 bowlers (4 specialist seamers) when Ali Imran also offers medium pace option didnt make much sense.

Overall a decent tournament for them but, I think they could have handled the 2nd phase better. One bad day in knockouts can finish the tournament for you and Northern had possibly their worst match of the tournament in the Semis.

 

[saeed5646]

So how did it go for him in this tournament?

Looks like he did all the right things to get his side to semi-final but somehow managed to not take the right tactical discussions for the semis?

Should be pretty disappointed with end result. They have one strong team and still couldn't win it .

Disappointed with him letting imad captaning the side in latter stage when shadab was doing excellent job in the beginning.

 

[Saj]

You have to be winning tournaments with that squad. With the players he had, there is no way they shouldn't have reached the final.

Sohail Tanvir playing all the time, why.

 

[silent ischemia]

Imad spoiled the party. Why did he come ahead of Shadab in today's game when Shadab was in form of his life

 

[Savak]

Shadab should have continued as captain. The team lost momentum when Imad took over

 

[Thunderbolt14]

Northern tried to chase 394 today in just 83 overs on Day 4 of their first class match against Balochistan, and fell just 9 runs short. Probably would have chased it down if the Umpires gave them two more overs.

Give this man a promotion already.

 

[shamaan]

Northern tried to chase 394 today in just 83 overs on Day 4 of their first class match against Balochistan, and fell just 9 runs short. Probably would have chased it down if the Umpires gave them two more overs.

Give this man a promotion already.

That's a massive score ti chase down credit to him and his players

 

[Saj]

Watch out for an interview with him.....coming soon.

 

[aloo paratha]

Should be the next Pakistan coach.

 

[shamaan]

I wanted him as cheif selector

 

[Nadeemp]

Seems like a good coach. Whenever he talks on television he sounds impressive.

 

[Titan24]

Northern’s FC team is in no way as strong as their LOI side especially with a lot of players in NZ but as said even in National T20 cup, what impressive was not just the wins they were getting but the approach.

Currently going at over 4 RPO against decent KPK attack and this has been their approach throughout which they have been able to successfully apply even with a comparatively limited red ball resources.

Wasim’s approach has been revolutionary considering the last decade or two of Pak domestic cricket. Brendon Mccullam and Mike Hessen did that at international level with NZ when they had pretty limited resources in comparison to now and whole approach of the way cricket was played in NZ changed and definitely increased the popularity of the sport in the country too.

 

[Thunderbolt14]

One look at Northern’s squad in comparison to the other squads without any other info or context, and you’d have no way of guessing they were sitting at number 2 on the Quaid e Azam trophy points table, narrowly missing out on a huge number 1 by a margin of 9 runs/2 extra overs that needed to be bowled.

The story was similar halfway through last season. With a depleted squad sitting in last place, you’d have no way of knowing they’d be playing the final through a brand of positive, result-oriented cricket.

 

[Thunderbolt14]

Northern’s Last 9 First Class matches:

2020————2019
(DWWL)—(LWWDW)

Only two draws despite an overall very high draw rate.

 

[Thunderbolt14]

Umair Masood: average of 14.4 after 17 first class games.

Failed in his last 8 innings, but backed by Wasim and sometimes even promoted up the order despite being wicket keeper, to give him more time batting.

Scored a century today, his first FC century (and in fact only his second ever 50+ score). Sitting at 103* overnight.

 

[shamaan]

Umair Masood: average of 14.4 after 17 first class games.

Failed in his last 8 innings, but backed by Wasim and sometimes even promoted up the order despite being wicket keeper, to give him more time batting.

Scored a century today, his first FC century (and in fact only his second ever 50+ score). Sitting at 103* overnight.

But should he backed after playing so many games and having average of 14 ?

 

[Titan24]

But should he backed after playing so many games and having average of 14 ?

I guess thats bit of a fine line. If a coach is confident that a young player has got the potential to grow into something good than in my opinion he should be having that prerogative of deciding how many opportunities should he give someone. After all coach is going to be judged on the performance of his team and if his eye for talent lets him down many times than he will be in a position to lose his role. If he would have been backing a 30 odd year old player while a decent young potential would have been sitting on the bench than that would surely have been questionable.

As an example Hashim Amla averaged in 20s around first 12-16 tests but Mickey Arther backed him to come good which he did, same was the case with young ABD opening for SA and averaging early mid 30s in his initial phase.

Also to be honest Wasim's eye for talent has been pretty decent so far but, obviously just like any human he can go wrong too on occasion. However, I think coach should have the power to back his players and that is key to having a strong team in the long run.

 

[Thunderbolt14]

Precisely [MENTION=142432]Titan24[/MENTION], well put. I would also like to add that he was the second choice keeper behind Rohail Nazir who is now in New Zealand. So he has to be backed now no matter what for a lack of other options. What’s good to see is how Wasim managed him, and gave him opportunities higher up the order to keep backing him until he came good. It’s notable particularly so because of the rapid pace at which Wasim is able to extract the best out of his players.

 

[ElRaja]

But should he backed after playing so many games and having average of 14 ?

rohail is away with pak, and jamal anwar aint much of a batsmen anyway, so northern dont really have too many options afaik.

 

[Justcrazy]

Wasim is good because he is honest and not biased. He wants to develop the players.

Pakistan would have been in better position if Guys like Wasim and Shoaib Akhtar were part of selection committee .

 

[Munawwar]

Jamal Anwar is more than decent options for Pakistani domestic WK standards and he had a fairly good domestic season last year.

Credit should be given to Wasim for playing Umair instead of experienced WK and that too played him in his natural position instead of treating him as specialist WK. Wasim doesn't needs to be any genius to ***** the ability of Umair as he has proved himself in telecasted U-19 WC, Wasim is honest here and backed a talent who he might have felt hard done by other coaches because of not provide him playing time or make him play among lower order batsmen as specialist WK.

Sometimes decisions like this makes separates good coaches among average ones.

 

[shamaan]

I guess thats bit of a fine line. If a coach is confident that a young player has got the potential to grow into something good than in my opinion he should be having that prerogative of deciding how many opportunities should he give someone. After all coach is going to be judged on the performance of his team and if his eye for talent lets him down many times than he will be in a position to lose his role. If he would have been backing a 30 odd year old player while a decent young potential would have been sitting on the bench than that would surely have been questionable.

As an example Hashim Amla averaged in 20s around first 12-16 tests but Mickey Arther backed him to come good which he did, same was the case with young ABD opening for SA and averaging early mid 30s in his initial phase.

Also to be honest Wasim's eye for talent has been pretty decent so far but, obviously just like any human he can go wrong too on occasion. However, I think coach should have the power to back his players and that is key to having a strong team in the long run.

Thankyou I agree wasim has a eye for talent so I trust him to back the right players

 

[shamaan]

rohail is away with pak, and jamal anwar aint much of a batsmen anyway, so northern dont really have too many options afaik.

Oh yeah that's true rohail is away on international duty

 

[Titan24]

So the head coach is possibly turning into a chief selector for the national team. Deserves the progression but, maybe it could have been towards national coaching setup. One thing is good that his performances and overall cricketing acumen is being recognized.