"T20 tournaments are having a huge, detrimental effect on quality of our batsmen" : Mudassar Nazar

[Abdullah719]

"T20 tournaments are having a huge, detrimental effect on quality of our batsmen" : Mudassar Nazar

In his third stint at the Pakistan Cricket Board, former Pakistan batsman Mudassar Nazar is currently playing an important role in the development of future cricketers as the Director of Academies at the National Cricket Academy in Lahore.

In an exclusive interview with PakPassion.net, Mudassar spoke in detail about his priorities at the PCB, the worrying lack of young good quality batsmen coming through the Under-16 and Under-19 levels in Pakistan, the detrimental effect of Twenty20 cricket on the quality of batting in Pakistan, the deficiencies with the current domestic structure and the steady and encouraging supply of good fast-bowling resources coming through the Under-19 system.

<img src="https://i.imgur.com/3XKHdx6.jpg" width="750">​

PakPassion.net: How is your current role as Director Academies at the PCB going so far?

Mudassar Nazar: It’s been fine and something which is similar to what I have done before at the PCB. The slight difference this time is that I have started a new pathway for bringing talent to Pakistan cricket which is focusing on the Under-13 level. In my previous stint with the PCB as Head Coach of NCA in 2001, I had started the Under-16s program and of course we already had the Under-19s well established at that point. So now with me back at the PCB, the Under-13 and Under-16 programs are well established and doing well, nationwide. The success of the Under-16 program can be judged by the fact that we have 9 players in the national squad who were part of this program in 2008 which for me is quite satisfying. What this shows to me is that the various pathways are working and doing their job. To be honest, these programs should have been in better shape had they not been more or less stopped when I left the NCA for my role at the ICC Cricket Academy in Dubai in 2009. To me what the success of these programs does show is that if you stick with your plans and give the boys the resources and the right environment to grow, then they will come through and serve the nation in the future.


PakPassion.net: How do you see your priorities in your current role at the PCB?

Mudassar Nazar: My first priority has been to kick-start the Under-16 program. This was really the third time this has happened, and it seems that whenever I leave Pakistan, these programs are stopped which to me is a serious concern. Looking back, the first couple of times that I left and came back, it was easy to restart these pathways as I was away for shorter periods of time. However, it was much tougher to get these pathways working back on track after a period of 8 years which happened when I started my third stint at the PCB in 2016. The process to get things moving again took its time and had a toll on our cricket as well, but hopefully we will get there.


PakPassion.net: What do you say to those who state that the standard of young batsmen in Pakistan is a concern?

Mudassar Nazar: I would say that they are right and that is a big concern for all of us. I have scouted and scoured the country, gone to wherever cricket is played in Pakistan and it's almost impossible to find top-quality batsmen in the country who are coming through the system. We are totally without good batsmen at the Under-19s level and sadly, this issue goes all the way down to the Under-16s level as well. But there is a ray of hope as the Under-15s and Under-13s aren’t too bad and one hopes that in a few years’ time we will be able to produce quality batsmen. But at the moment, there is a huge issue with our batting resources within our First-Class and Under-19 levels and the age groups between.

The PCB, to their credit, has been successful in one thing which is that they have arranged two big tours for the A team in the UAE against New Zealand A and England Lions. And suddenly, we have a few good players come to the fore like Abid Ali who got some good runs. I saw him bat and get runs against England Lions’ Mark Wood who can bowl with a lot of pace. He looked very comfortable against that sort of pace so that is great news for Pakistan. We also have some good fast bowlers coming up like Shaheen Shah Afridi and one or two other younger bowlers who are doing well in Pakistan. So, it will take a little time but slowly the talent will come through.


PakPassion.net: You mentioned a few names of upcoming players but why aren’t more new names coming through like other nations?

Mudassar Nazar: It's very difficult to single out good players like that who are in the Under-19 setup but the unfortunate fact is that they have to struggle a lot at that level. In the past few years, there hasn’t been that much exposure for our younger players at the Under-19 or the A team level in Pakistan. If you compare the setup with say, England, you will see that the England Lions go pretty much everywhere their senior team goes as well. In fact, they go to places where the seniors will tour a year ahead so that they are well in tune with the demands of what the next tour will bring and they have one or two players who come through to the senior team before that tour happens.

Whereas in Pakistan in the last 8 or 9 years, the tours have pretty much stopped. The cycle of bringing in new players has therefore stopped or been disrupted and is very difficult to restart. But I feel we are now making progress and these two A tours to the UAE have been very beneficial for our younger players.


PakPassion.net: Is it a concern that many of the players being picked for Pakistan A are players who have failed for the national team and lesser number of newer players are getting chances?

Mudassar Nazar: I think the A team has a place for both experienced players as well as newer ones. From the NCA’s point of view, we would love to have players from Under-19 or just above in the A squad. But, when you have national selectors who are selecting the A team and the Under-23s, they obviously have an eye on the Pakistan team and are looking to fill the gaps in that team, potentially using A players. But they have an unenviable task because if they don’t select good domestic performers they are criticised and get into trouble as well. This year they have been bringing in a lot of players into the A side who have been performing well in the last few years. Also remember that we are in the middle of the second of two A series this year and so the selectors are trying to blood a lot of players and give them chances to play and see how they perform away from the domestic circuit.

I have heard many people say that our domestic cricket isn’t testing enough so this is the selectors chance to blood-in so many different players. The other problem is that ideally, there should always be about 20 players in the A setup out of which 10-12 players, based upon their performances, have a chance to fill in the gaps in the senior team if needed. But that only works if you have had regular academy, Under-19 and A tours over a period of time. If you don’t, then you will end up in a similar situation as us where we have so many different players to try out in a short span of time. Whilst I can understand where the selectors are coming from in this regard, I would have done it differently as my bias is for player development, so I would have preferred youth, but the selectors are looking for the finished article.


PakPassion.net: What changes need to be made in domestic cricket to make it more robust?

Mudassar Nazar: To start with, we all need to be honest about this issue or we will never find the best solution to this problem. If we were to look at the way our domestic cricket is run at the moment, you will note that there is a lot of politics as far as the regional associations and departments are concerned. We must also understand that it's not the departments that produce players, it’s the regions who do this job, but it is also true that the pick of our talented players go to the departments.

We have an odd situation where the departments don’t do any player development of any sort, but they have the financial means to help the players. However, gone are the days when departments used to give permanent jobs to the players in institutions such as PIA or any of the banks. Also, nowadays, the pay structure isn’t that great with the departments and you can see the effects of this by the fact that as soon as a player gets a chance to play a Twenty20 League in any part of the world, he leaves the department straight away.

Coming to the state of the associations, the fact is that the office-bearers of these associations are duty-bound to select the players from the clubs who elected them in the first place which is such a mess. What now needs to happen is that all concerned need to sit together around a table and discuss and thrash out the issues at hand, and then come up with a consensus on how best to organise domestic cricket in Pakistan and to find a way forward. It’s not simply a debate about departments versus regions as many would have us believe but the end result is that due to the weakness of the current system, some of the deserving players simply don’t make it to the top.


PakPassion.net: In your playing days, were you a fan of any particular system of domestic cricket?

Mudassar Nazar: I never liked playing for departments, and I would have been much happier playing for Lahore. I certainly hated my time with United Bank but I had to play for them for a very long time. There was always pressure to play all the games for them and they could manipulate the system as they had the money to play most of their games in the southern part of Pakistan like Karachi as there were spinning tracks there and we had good spinners. To be fair, I did like playing for PIA in the early part of my career as it did have a positive impact on my development as a player.


PakPassion.net: Is there too much emphasis on domestic Twenty20 tournaments in Pakistan?

Mudassar Nazar: The advent of Twenty20 tournaments is having a huge and detrimental effect on the quality of our batsmen. People who aren’t close to the game, probably don’t see this as an issue but I see it day in, day out. I feel that batting techniques have gone out of the window. What some of the batsmen do not realise is that in order to have a healthy Twenty20 or One-Day career, one needs to have their technique right. Your basics need to be right, otherwise you will have a very short career. Even in the Pakistan team we see that we are very good in Twenty20s but there have been times in Tests where our team has basically fallen by the wayside in terms of our batting. A lot of that is happening due to Twenty20 cricket.

I can also tell you that a lot of interest in Twenty20 cricket is commercially driven and sometimes you have no choice but to give the shorter formats more importance. For example, when I was working for the ICC Cricket Academy in Dubai, we had a huge number of players who wanted to play games. So, we used to provide them an opportunity to play the shorter format of the game so that everyone could get a game, and we also made money out of it too. Of course, this kept the game going but it also had a detrimental effect on players’ techniques. And this is also happening in Pakistan at the domestic level as we have many such leagues being organised at the association and district levels. To them, if they have organised a Twenty20 League where batsmen slog, they feel that they have done their job and achieved something. Parents of younger players are happy as they feel that the kids can end up in PSL, the Big Bash or any other Twenty20 league but in my view, such players are heading for short careers.


PakPassion.net: What are your thoughts on young pace bowlers such as Naseem Shah, Arshad Iqbal, Mohammad Hasnain and Muhammad Musa Khan?

Mudassar Nazar: All the names you have mentioned are fantastic and great additions to Pakistan cricket. We are very hopeful that they will all come through and have a bright future with the Pakistan team. As we have seen, Shaheen Shah Afridi has already made an impact and Musa Khan is also talked about a lot because he has gained exposure in the last two Under-19 tournaments at the international level. Unfortunately, Mohammad Hasnain got injured and had a setback, whilst Arshad Iqbal is an excellent prospect.

To me, Naseem Shah is bowling quicker than all of these bowlers and he is still very young but even he had a setback due to injury, mainly because he was trying to bowl quicker than what his body was ready for. Hopefully, at the NCA we will nurse him through like we did in the case of Umar Gul and Mohammad Amir. So, in terms of fast-bowling we are covered really well as you will see in a matter of 2-3 years’ time. The pleasing thing for me is that I have seen these guys develop from the time they were 16 when they were bowling around the 125-130 KpH mark and now they are touching speeds like 140-145 KpH. So, there is a gradual but definite progress there and I am very excited about their future prospects. I feel that they all bring different skill levels and talents to the mix and I am so glad that you mentioned these names, although I do wish we had similar things to say about new batsmen too, but unfortunately we don't.


PakPassion.net: Are you concerned about the careers of players like Zeeshan Malik, Hasan Mohsin, Khushdil Shah, Saif Badar who have also not been picked for the PSL?

Mudassar Nazar: Saif Badar was picked by Lahore Qalandars but unfortunately, they decided to not play him for reasons best known to them. However, he is starting to make a comeback and hopefully he will come through again. The other players you mentioned are a concern to me as they haven’t made that much of an impact but I know that they are all working hard towards getting better. One thing that I realised when I was away from Pakistan cricket for 8 years was that the importance of Under-19 cricket has diminished greatly. In the past, our cricket was all about Under-19s cricket and that formed the basis for future Pakistan sides. Unfortunately, the people in charge during my time away made sure that Under-19 cricketers were left in the wilderness. The regional associations took them on, but the departments never got hold of them and they got lost in the system. In fact, I feel that there were about 20 players who got lost in this way. On top of that, we have over forty percent of players who are over 35 years of age who are still playing in first-class cricket which is preventing the younger players to come through the ranks. But all this needs to be looked at and I mince no words when I say that we do have a job at hand if we want to take this forward and secure a great future for Pakistan cricket.

 

[MenInG]

Excellent views. And something T20 enthusiasts should read and understand

 

[BunnyRabbit]

He is definitely a guy who knows his trade and is well respected for his time at the ICC Academy.

But then, I heard he was also involved with LQ, if he is against T20 leagues, he should abstain from it.

Coming on to his comments regarding if you're focusing on t20, it will hurt your Test career which is absolutely right. Only those guys who have the basics right and can adapt can go on to have successful careers in all formats like Kohli, Smith, Faf, KW, Stokes, Khawaja, De Kock, Markram(a work in progress) and some others.
It's pretty clear that guys like Chris Lynn, Jason Roy, Russell, Lewis etc are bound to fail in Test cricket if given opportunity.

But t20 leagues can have a good effect on players for ODI's though. The aggressive nature of t20s can help guys face unfamiliar and difficult situations and can help them develop new shots and stuff to keep at level with the world.

One anomaly I can think of is Colin Munro, I think even with his uber aggressive batting style, he can still be successful in Test Cricket as he is a very careful watcher of the ball and has amazing hand eye coordination. It is also reflected by his FC stats with average of over 50.

 

[Prince of Pakistan]

Mudasser Nazar is one of the best things that have happened to Pak cricket. No wonder we were superior in youth ranks till 2008 something. Also Mickey trusts his judgement a lot (read Mickey's interview).

We need people like him as director of cricket operations even though he has already made a huge difference at the NCA. Hope he stays at the PCB so that we keep improving our youth ranks and see more Shaheen's + Saud Shakeel's.

 

[gazza619]

He has a very cool head and always speaks sense. Need him involved in cricket for a few more years.

 

[Pete Rose]

I still don’t get why t20 is not impacting players in the bigger teams.
I can however believe, that our perennially rubbish domestic batsmen have now even lesser incentive to sort out their technique.
Even if you buy Mudassars argument at face value, there’s little that can be done to stem the tide. T20 and the opportunity to be fast tracked through it to lucrative leagues or the national team will far outweigh the need to foil away in 4 day cricket.

 

[MMHS]

I hope, after such an interview, Mudassar can keep his job. Basically, he has opened an can of worm which we have discussed many times here in PP.

 

[MenInG]

I hope, after such an interview, Mudassar can keep his job. Basically, he has opened an can of worm which we have discussed many times here in PP.

He is a man who has been charged with developing good cricketers from the academies so its good we know what his aims are.

 

[MMHS]

He is a man who has been charged with developing good cricketers from the academies so its good we know what his aims are.

I see that, he has noticed PAK A team selection isn't like what it should be, but probably that's out of his scope, hence he has been politically correct here; but don't think with this selection policy (of A team/emerging team), he can't do much development with U19 & U23 players.

 

[shaaik]

I have a lot of respect and regards for Mudasir from my childhood days though have never seen him playing but have heard a lot about him from my father how Mudasir was a go to guy for Imran khan. Someone who made the maximum use of his talent (limited) to become one of our top cricketers in 80s and this is exactly the kind of people that we need in pCB's set up, players who were not god gifted but made it through with their grit and never say never attitude. This is what is missing in our younger lot, we seem to be producing a lot of softies nowadays, those we shy away from the contest once a bit of pressure is exerted on them. Our young players specially batsmen are all of defensive mindset, this needs to change and this can only change from the gross root level where we need people with positive mindset, those who know how to take bull by the horns and Mudasir indeed is one of them.

 

[Saj]

A wonderful read, really enjoyed it.

Mudassar Nazar is exactly what Pakistan cricket needs and him leaving his role at the PCB meant that a whole generation of cricketers were lost in the system.

He has a great cricketing mind and is well-respected throughut the cricketing world.

There are quite a few people out there who want to take credit for the development of players whilst the actual credit should go to people like Mudassar Nazar.

 

[Prince of Pakistan]

A wonderful read, really enjoyed it.

Mudassar Nazar is exactly what Pakistan cricket needs and him leaving his role at the PCB meant that a whole generation of cricketers were lost in the system.

He has a great cricketing mind and is well-respected throughut the cricketing world.

There are quite a few people out there who want to take credit for the development of players whilst the actual credit should go to people like Mudassar Nazar.

The reason Mickey Arthur trusts Muddasser with all the upcoming players. Probably also why he fast tracked Shaheen Shah + Shadab into the national side (after Muddaser's recommendation).

 

[Savak]

T-20's are a reality of today, Kohli is the only one who has successfully made adjustments to all formats. Other batsmen should have no excuse.

 

[last_knight]

T20 skills are need of the moment. Technique without skills, not T20s, is what's detrimental.

 

[Bob Marley]

Following cricket for last 40 years, the issue with Pak batters is same, can't play ball moving outside the off. Indian bowlers cant sustain pressure of bowling fast. Eng and Aus weak on spin tracks. Issues are still the same. T20 can never be an excuse, even now your number one T20 batter is best player in test as well! It is about skill set and mind set! Set these two aspects and you are set!

 

[aukhan]

Look at indian batsmen why are they not getting effected? We are producing rubbish stop blaming it on T20s.

 

[Deewana Mastana]

The batting department is BARE EMPTY and it is really a MASSIVE concern if you are a true Pakistan fan.

Muddy says it how it is and unfortunately when FC cricket would not get any attention or priority and T20 leagues will be getting pumped with all the money and so on then this was and is bound to happen.

Pakistan's batting resources have been bare for the last 5-10 years almost.

 

[Saj]

Look at indian batsmen why are they not getting effected? We are producing rubbish stop blaming it on T20s.

Because they still take 4-day cricket seriously and want to compete to be the best in that format.

 

[mak36]

Wow. Some really insightful comments.

He is very considered in his views and raises issues I hadn't even thought about.

Hope his interviews become a regular feature @saj.

 

[Saj]

The reason Mickey Arthur trusts Muddasser with all the upcoming players. Probably also why he fast tracked Shaheen Shah + Shadab into the national side (after Muddaser's recommendation).

Yes, but Mudassar needs support through the system.

At the moment too many players in domestic cricket who get picked due to who they know and not how good they are.

 

[MenInG]

Think the result of the Emerging Teams Cup points to what Mudasser was talking about.

 

[Savak]

Why are our domestic test games for only 4 days?

I wonder why can't they extent this to 5 days to replicate the exact test match format. This might go a long way in helping players develop that mindset that a test match lasts for 5 days. As it is most of our games are not lasting longer than 1-2 days.

I would personally like the no of teams, amount of matches reduced but each domestic game should be a 5 day test match.

 

[Savak]

Its been 2 and a half years since Mudassar was appointed as the head of academies, what has he achieved and delivered up till now?

 

[Majid Khan]

I wonder why can't they extent this to 5 days to replicate the exact test match format. This might go a long way in helping players develop that mindset that a test match lasts for 5 days. As it is most of our games are not lasting longer than 1-2 days.

I would personally like the no of teams, amount of matches reduced but each domestic game should be a 5 day test match.

5 day test matches that finish inside 3 days you might need Mudassar Nazar to bat himself to last the full 5 days.

 

[Markhor]

I wonder why can't they extent this to 5 days to replicate the exact test match format. This might go a long way in helping players develop that mindset that a test match lasts for 5 days. As it is most of our games are not lasting longer than 1-2 days.

I would personally like the no of teams, amount of matches reduced but each domestic game should be a 5 day test match.

Think about the current schedule - they cram the FC season into the space of three months. Many of these pitches are re-used and groundstaff aren't given sufficient time between matches to prepare the surfaces even though many matches don't even last 4 days.

The schedule just doesn't allow any flexibility.

 

[Markhor]

Regarding Mudassar's point - this is a cheap excuse. India have the biggest T20 tournament in the world and it hasn't impacted the production line of quality young batsmen. They are #1 in the Test rankings no less.

The problems are closer to home and some of them aren't in his control. Schools aren't producing the talent they once did with many kids choosing academics over sport as a career. In the 1950s, there was intense competition between the top colleges and many Test players came from that system. There needs to be an effort to incentivise cricket scholarships and enable students to balance their studies and sport.

The coaching at grassroots and junior level needs investment by PCB, who should set up an academy just for coaches so they've the proper qualifications. Coaching is like any profession and requires a different skillset with specialised technical knowledge. Playing a few Tests in the 70s shouldn't qualify you to run an academy.

Then there's the domestic setup where too many players have First Class contracts despite little to show for it. If you're a specialist batsman and you average less than 30 you have no business playing First Class cricket ! This is a product of having too many teams with no quality control. It's no surprise as the number of FC teams have expanded, the standards of FC cricket has declined.

 

[jnaveen1980]

It affects globally. But guys like Faf duplessis, Kane williamson, Kohli are able to adapt himself and switches between the formats seamlessly. People look at Pujara like an alien for his style of cricket. Since he has no IPL contract he has gone right back to domestic cricket playing for his state without wasting anytime. Babar looks good in all formats although he has some distance to go in Tests.

 

[Savak]

Think about the current schedule - they cram the FC season into the space of three months. Many of these pitches are re-used and groundstaff aren't given sufficient time between matches to prepare the surfaces even though many matches don't even last 4 days.

The schedule just doesn't allow any flexibility.

That is why reducing the no of teams to a maximum of 10 will go a long way.

 

[MenInG]

Hope Nazar Sahib happy with the emergence of Abid Ali (tad late!)

 

[Savak]

Not sure i agree with Muddy Pa. He seems to be stuck in the 80's. If T-20 cricket was indeed a problem, Pakistan would not be having a power hitting crisis that it faces today for a long time, i have lost count of the numerous amount of games we have lost chasing because of the inability to hit sixes at the end and falling short by 6-7 runs, 10-15 runs.

If T20 cricket was indeed to blame for our batting problems, we would have plenty of batsmen coming through the ranks who were hitting sixes, T-20 Cricket has not hurt the Big 5's limited overs batting. Why should we be the unique exception?

 

[mesmerizer85]

Has the T20 format impacted the batsmen's focus for Longer format?

Ever since the T20 format is introduced there is an increase in demand for powerful hitters, which might be the reason scores in excess of 300/400 are being scored in ODIs. This has definitely helped other teams. Pak on the other hand is witnessing batsmen who dont have the hunger or patience to stay on crease a long time like in ODIs or tests. Instead, it simply puts pressure on them as they cant take ones or twos which is highly required in ODIs and start playing the unnecessary slogs like in T20s and get out.

 

[MenInG]

Busy National Cricket Academy Programme 2019-2020 announced

Busy National Cricket Academy Programme 2019-2020 announced

· The programme reflects the strategic objective of the PCB which is to improve, enhance and continue to invest and focus on Pakistan’s future cricket, says Director – Academies, Mudassar Nazar

Lahore, 14 June 2019:

The Pakistan Cricket Board today announced a comprehensive and busy National Cricket Academy Programme 2019-2020, which will commence next week and culminate next year around the same time.

The NCA Programme 2019-2020 has been broken into four different categories, namely: Player Skills and Training, Youth/Talent Hunt and Skills Training, Game Education Programme, and Players Development at Regional and High Performance Centres.

Under the Player Skills and Training Programme, the National Cricket Academy has planned nine different activities that are targeted and focused at enhancing the cricketing and personal skills of the U13, U16 and U19 cricketers.

Under the Youth/Talent and Skills Training, five U13 and U16 tournaments have been scheduled apart from the talent hunt exercise, wide-ranging courses for the emerging coaches have been incorporated in the Game Education Programme, while follow-up programmes for the teenage cricketers will be held under the Player Development at Regional and High Performance Centres programme.

The year-long activity will kick off at the National Cricket Academy in Lahore on Monday, 17 June, when the Pakistan U16 squad and reserves for the tour of Bangladesh will assemble in the first phase of the 12-week session until 13 July.

In the second phase of this programme, Pakistan U19 side will arrive on 15 July at the back of their tour of South Africa on an eight-week course. This is to ensure there is no interruption in their preparation for next year’s ICC U19 Cricket World Cup South Africa 2020.

Curtain will fall on the NCA Programme 2019-2020 with the four-week Emerging Players Fitness Training Camp in Lahore in June 2020.

PCB Director - Academies, Mudassar Nazar, said: “A robust, well thought out and detailed year-long programme has been developed keeping in mind the strategic objective of the PCB which is to continue to invest and focus on our future cricket.

“Over the next 12 months, we will impart coaching and training with an aim to identify, prepare and develop the next generation of cricketers so that they are as best prepared as practically possible to carry forward the good work of past and present generation of Pakistan cricketers.

“The National Cricket Academy is a finishing school for Pakistan’s future stars. This centre of excellence has produced current players such as Babar Azam, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Imam-ul-Haq, Shadab Khan, Hasan Ali, while the recently-concluded Level-2 coach Education Course included all the players who were the graduates from the inaugural 2001-2002 batch.

“While the youngsters in the upcoming programme will be provided cricket coaching, they will be educated on various other important aspects of professional cricket, including diet awareness, control and management; anti-doping; anti-corruption; rules and regulations; people management; media handling; physical fitness; gymnasium training; lifestyle etc.

“We have some of the most committed and dedicated coaches at the National Cricket Academy, who will leave no stone unturned in helping these youngsters get ready for the future and reduce the gap between domestic and international cricket. Exciting times await these young cricketers at the NCA and beyond, and the education they will receive here will only help them make optimum use of those career-building opportunities.”

Pakistan U16 players to attend the player skills and training from Monday, 17 June to 13 July 2019, are:

Ahmad Khan (Abbottabad), Ali Asfand (Faisalabad), Ali Hassan (Sialkot), Aliyan Mehmood (Karachi), Amir Hassan (Rawalpindi), Arham Nawab (Faisalabad), Aseer Mughal (Rawalpindi), Ayaz Shah (FATA), Faisal Akram (Multan), Farhad Khan (FATA), Haseebullah Khan (Quetta), Kashif Ali (Karachi), Khalid Khan (Quetta), Muneeb Wasif (Lahore), Mohammad Shehzad (Multan), Mohammad Waqas (Faisalabad), Rizwan Mehmood (Hyderabad), Sameer Saqib (Faisalabad), Umer Eman (Lahore) and Zubair Shinwari (FATA) (wicketkeeper).

NCA Programme 2019-2020:

PLAYER NATIONAL SKILLS AND TRAINING

1. Emerging Players High Performance Camp (U16 & U19, 2018-2019 batch) – June to August (12 weeks), NCA
2. NCA Specialised Skill Development Programme (Pakistan A players) – September (2 weeks), NCA
3. NCA U16 Development Squad Camp (2019-2020 batch) – October/November (4 weeks), NCA
4. NCA U19 High Performance Camp (Pre-ICC U19 CWC 2020) – December/January (6 weeks), NCA
5. NCA U13 Basic Coaching Programme – January (2 weeks), NCA
6. U16 post-tour Skills, Performance, Analysis Development (SPAD) Camp (2019-2020 batch) – February (4 weeks), NCA/HPC
7. Remote Areas Fast Bowlers & Batsmen Skills Development Programme – March (2 weeks), NCA/HPC
8. Remote Areas Spin Bowlers and Batsmen Skills Development Camp – April (2 weeks), NCA/HPC
9. Emerging Players Fitness Training Camp – June (4 weeks), NCA

YOUTH/TALENT HUNT SKILLS TRAINING PROGRAMME

1. Youth Talent Hunt Programme (open trails & age verification of U13 & U16 at districts) – August (4 days week), 80 country-wide activities
2. U16 Pepsi/PCB Cricket Star Programme (regional trials and pre-tournament camp) – August (2 weeks), 16 regions
3. U16 Regional National One-Day Tournament – September (2 weeks), Karachi/Islamabad/Lahore
4. U16 Pentangular One-Day Tournament – September (1 week), Lahore
5. U13 Catch ‘em’ Young Programme (pre-tournament camp) – December (1 week), 16 Regions
6. U13 Regional National T20 Tournament – December (2 weeks), Karachi/Multan/Lahore/Islamabad
7. Talent Hunt in Remote Areas (Power-hitters, Tall & fast and spin wizards) – February/March (1 day each), 14 cities

GAME EDUCATION PROGRAMME

1. Pre-season regional coaching and support staff conference – TBC (2 days), NCA
2. 3 PCB Level-I Basic Coaching Course – August to April (4 days each), Northern, Central and Southern
3. 2 PCB Advanced Level-II Coaching Course – August to April (six days each), IH-HPC, Multan
4. PCB Level 3 High Performance Coaching Course – March (6 days), NCA
5. 2 PCB Level-I Training and Trainers Course – TBC (3 days), NCA
6. 1 Advance (international) sports physiotherapy Level-II course – TBC (3 days), NCA
7. Post-season regional coaching and support staff conference – TBC (3 days), NCA

PLAYER DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMME AT REGIONS/HPCs

1. Regional U19 Academies – June to August (8 weeks), 16 regions
2. Follow-up Programme for regional/provincial U19 players – December (2 weeks), 2/6 HPCs
3. Engagement of Regional Coaches during inter-district tournaments/activity – January/February (2 months)
4. Follow-up programme for regional/provincial U16 players – March (2 weeks), 2/6 HPCs
5. Follow-up programme for regional/provincial U13 players – March (2 weeks), 2/6 weeks

 

[MenInG]

Lots of good initiatives but wonder when we will see results of these in the future?

 

[Syed1]

These have been going on for two decades and still we have a middle order comprising of Hafeez, Sarf, Malik and Asif and our spin attack comprises of non-spinning Imad and hot and cold Shadab. Time to shut up shop since these "camps" aren't helping at all.

 

[Mercurial]

This is an outdated thing to say that T20 cricket is affecting the quality of cricket. The thing is there is lack of talent when it comes to FC cricket, and it doesn't necessarily come from more T20 cricket. We grew up in the 90s, even in gully cricket almost everyone used to smash the ball right from ball one, you could hardly see a Test match in streets, yet we produced many batsmen who had decent to good FC records. Just like Hockey faded, the same may happen to cricket as well, by looking at the state/quality of players in domestic cricket.

 

[Angrez Pakistani]

These have been going on for two decades and still we have a middle order comprising of Hafeez, Sarf, Malik and Asif and our spin attack comprises of non-spinning Imad and hot and cold Shadab. Time to shut up shop since these "camps" aren't helping at all.

Honestly, it all depends on who is running these camps. Line-up quality foreign coaches and pair them with local coaches in these camps and we may see better players coming through the system in future.

 

[Syed1]

Honestly, it all depends on who is running these camps. Line-up quality foreign coaches and pair them with local coaches in these camps and we may see better players coming through the system in future.

First issue is a country of 200 million and only ONE NCA and that too in Lahore... heck we need 10-12 NCAs with each having competent local and foreign coaches.

 

[shah_1]

We have a lot players coming from FATA, that is great to see

Shaheen Afridi, Usman Shinwari and Umer Khan(soon will play)

 

[MenInG]

Eight-week Regional U19 Academies programme commences

Lahore, 24 June 2019:

A Pakistan Cricket Board funded eight-week Regional U19 Academies activities, as part of a robust National Cricket Academies Programme 2019-2020, kicked-off today at 14 different regions of the country.

A total of 320 teenage cricketers, 20 from each of the 16 regions, are taking part in the programme that has been designed keeping in mind future pathways and better career opportunities, including potential selections in the upcoming PCB U19 and first-class tournaments, as well as the ICC U19 Cricket World Cup 2020.

The regional cricketers were selected earlier this year and the 20-player groups also comprise players from all the districts who had been invited for open trails in their respective regions.

While Karachi and Multan are also housing cricketers from Larkana and Dera Murad Jamali, respectively, other regions hosting the academies include Abbottabad, Azad Jammu and Kashmir, Faisalabad, FATA, Hyderabad, Islamabad, Peshawar, Quetta, Rawalpindi and Sialkot.

PCB Director – Academies, Mudassar Nazar, said: “The academies are our nurseries that produce raw talent which we can nurture and improve. The main emphasis of the all the qualified coaches over the next eight weeks will be to improve the fitness, technical, tactical and mental skill competencies of these youngsters keeping in view the upcoming season and opportunities that lay ahead.”

 

[MenInG]

I cannot think of a better candidate for Chief Selector than Muddassar

 

[Bhaag Viru Bhaag]

Look at indian batsmen why are they not getting effected? We are producing rubbish stop blaming it on T20s.

Indian batting once again relied on Kohli and Rohit. IPL bullies like Rahul, Pant and Pandya didn't do anything special in this world cup. Even after 10-12 seasons of IPL we expect Dhoni to finish the inning and chase the target these days. And less said about our tail the better.

 

[Captain caveman]

I cannot think of a better candidate for Chief Selector than Muddassar

The guys ancient, i watched him play in the first test match i ever watched as a small child, about 37 years ago and he was rubbish!!
I know he works at the national academy, but thats just jobs for the boys!
Get someone young and fresh, who understands modern day cricket.
Sorry theres no one else, it has to be waqar younis!!

 

[Abdullah719]

The guys ancient, i watched him play in the first test match i ever watched as a small child, about 37 years ago and he was rubbish!!
I know he works at the national academy, but thats just jobs for the boys!
Get someone young and fresh, who understands modern day cricket.
Sorry theres no one else, it has to be waqar younis!!

No need to group everyone in the same category.

There are ex-cricketers who are good at what they do and deserve more recognition and Mudassar is one of those. If you have a good cricketing brain and the will to adjust, you can easily adapt to the demands of modern day cricket.

 

[Saj]

Muddy's doing a fine job at the NCA - he prefers the hands-on approach rather than sitting behind a desk.

I think he's ideal as the head of the NCA working with the up and coming youngsters.

 

[Captain caveman]

No need to group everyone in the same category.

There are ex-cricketers who are good at what they do and deserve more recognition and Mudassar is one of those. If you have a good cricketing brain and the will to adjust, you can easily adapt to the demands of modern day cricket.

Old cricketers will always struggle to adjust to the modern game, especially ones who have not played for over 30 years!
Sorry, we don't need any more dinosaurs in charge of our cricket!
As a player, this guy makes imam ul haq look like king viv!
As a bowler, he makees faheem ashraf look like malcolm marshall.
A very mediocre cricketer from a bygone era!

 

[MenInG]

PCB should have held on to him - no idea why he is leaving.

 

[ZamanFan]

PCB should have held on to him - no idea why he is leaving.

Is'nt U-13 to U-19 fall under him?

How many U-19 players in last few years were able to play for Pakistan?

Once most cricketers used to come from U-19 circuit, now most vanish into oblivion.

NCA was meant to produce and train talent not source of paycheck for former test cricketers. He stays there or leaves his contribution will remain nil.

 

[MenInG]

LAHORE: Director National Cricket Academy (NCA) and former Test all-rounder Mudassar Nazar on Monday hailed world record maker Abid Ali’s feat in the Rawalpindi Test and said the opener has a lot of talent and should have played for Pakistan a couple of years ago.

In an exclusive interview with Dawn, Mudassar also stressed on the importance of club cricket and said it is the basis of excellence in Australian cricket and Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) will now be following the same model to produce high class players.

“Last year, Abid represented Pakistan ‘A’ team against England Lions in the UAE and he scored brilliantly. I saw him batting and was very impressed and recommended in my report that Abid should play for Pakistan,” recalled the former opener. “Yes Abid has been scoring at the domestic level for many years and the way he was performing he should have played for Pakistan a couple of years back. But he was unlucky because two regular openers at that time were also playing well.”

On Sunday, Abid became the first batsman in the entire cricket history to score a century on his Test and One-day International debut when when he hit 109 in the rain-hit first Test against Sri Lanka in Rawalpindi. Earlier, he had scored a century against Australia in Dubai this year in his first ODI.

‘Revival of club cricket only way forward for our cricket’

“Both Abid and Nasim Shah were recommended by the selectors to NCA for overcoming their fitness problems,” recalled Mudassar. “Both the players got treatment at the NCA but Abid was not considered as fully fit by the selectors compared to other cricketers, despite the fact that he was scoring in abundance,” he said. “Both Nasim and Abid did lot of hard work at the NCA and now they are absolutely fit by grace of God. I foresee a bright future for both the players.”

He also predicted that upcoming talented batsmen Rohail Nazir and Hyder Ali were also in line to make debut for in international cricket very soon as no one could stop their entry in the national team.

Mudassar further said that head coach and chief selector Misbah-ul-Haq had visited the NCA where Musa Khan, Nasim Shah and other talented cricketers were examined before they were selected for the Australia tour.

Asked if there was any proper system in place to ensure talented players like Abid are not ignored in the future, Mudassar said the selection committee was the best forum to address this issue.

To a question, Mudassar said that club system should be revived at all cost if Pakistan wants to produce talented cricketers in the years to come. “Though NCA is a platform where the talented cricketers are polished, the real role of spotting and grooming raw talent rests with the club and district/regional bodies and it is a challenge for us to promote club cricket.

“The new system of the PCB, based on six provincial teams, is being introduced in the country on Cricket Australia’s pattern. But strong club cricket is the back-bone of Australian cricket and we have to provide better equipments and infrastructure at the club level to make the new system work,” he opined.

“Local cricket association, club’s owners and the PCB have to invest jointly on revival of club cricket. But the PCB alone cannot meet all the expense of providing top class equipment and infrastructure on its own,” he said. “Honest and efficient people should be elected at the grassroots level to generate funds at their own level to boost club cricket.”

However, when reminded that currently the PCB had banned the club cricket for the last five months in order to implement its new system based on provincial and city level, Mudassar said the PCB was trying to streamline the new system and it was trying to get sponsors for the grassroots cricket, so it is taking time.

Interestingly, Mudassar was tight-lipped when asked if the current ban on club cricket could damage the game at the grassroots level.

He suggested that from the club level, teams ranging from under-9, 10, 11,12, to 19 years should be formed as Cricket Australia do in their system.

Mudassar said he had introduced U-13 cricket and had he stayed further, he would have also started cricket from Under-9 level.

Answering a thorny question about the reason behind his decision to announce his departure from director academies’ post six months in advance, Mudassar said when he joined ICC Academy in Dubai, he was not interested to return to Pakistan but previous PCB chairman Shaharyar M Khan brought him back with the promise that funds would be available to build cricket centers in different cities.

“I tried my best to streamline the affairs of the NCA but now I want to live with my family in England where I may do my own business or cricket coaching on part-time basis,” he disclosed. “As far as informing the PCB about my decision six months before the expiry of my contract, I feel it is not a bad thing as it will give the PCB enough time to get my replacement.”

To a question that whether the decisions in appointing coaches of the six provincial teams of first and second XI were made on merit, Mudassar said though his input was also there but Misbah as head coach and chief selector was the major person in making the appointments.

“There might be some controversial decisions in appointing the coaches but it is not an easy job to make such appointments,” he commented.

Mudassar also pointed out that the NCA had no deep coordination with PCB’s bio-mechanics lab which is set up at a private university and is working independently.

“Few cases of bowlers having illegal bowling actions were recommended to the bio-mechanics lab, but for the last five to six months not a single case has been sent. They are working independently as the PCB signed an MoU with the private university before I joined the NCA,” Mudassar said.

It may be mentioned that all the investment on buying and installing the labs was made by the PCB, to control the illegal bowling trend in the bowlers at the domestic level to avoid any such case at the international level.

https://www.dawn.com/news/1522605/abid-ali-should-have-played-for-pakistan-two-years-ago-mudassar

 

[MenInG]

Karachi, May 31 (PTI) The outgoing head of Pakistan''s National Cricket Academy (NCA) in Lahore, Mudassar Nazar has admitted that he could not achieve the goals he had set for himself for the development of the game in the strife-torn country.

"I couldn’t do the development work that I wanted in the last four years at the academy," he said.

"Yes we did build two high performances centres in Multan and Karachi. But I wanted to set up more such centres in other cities. Perhaps one reason for this is the financial health of the board.

"I also wanted to do more development work but I couldn''t do it properly. But if I look back at my four years then I am proud to say that when I took charge there were no proper programs at the NCA."

Three of the Pakistan Cricket Board''s long-serving former Test players, Mudassar, Haroon Rasheed and Agha Zahid spent their last day at the NCA on Sunday as the board ended their services in an effort to restructure and convert the academy into a High Performance Centre.

Mudassar, who has close ties his former Test captain and now Prime Minister of Pakistan Imran Khan, insisted that he had never tried to take advantage of his friendship with the country''s premier during his stint at the NCA.

"I have never tried to take advantage of my relationship with Imran because that is not the way I work nor will I ever do it in future," he said.

He said he is proud of the work he had done at the NCA.

"I am proud of the under-13 talent hunt and development program I started as head of the NCA. It has given us some very fine talent."

He said youngsters like Naseem Shah, Shaheen Shah Afridi and Muhammad Hasnain had benefited from the academy.

"I am also proud to see other youngsters like Muhammad Musa, Rohail Nazir and Haider Ali also in line to play for Pakistan and that makes me feel proud."

Mudassar, who was a key member of the Imran Khan-led Pakistan team in the 80s, played 76 Tests and 122 ODIs for his country.

The former all-rounder said it was unfair to target the NCA for its performance every time.

"I was always surprised that whenever the board was criticised the NCA and its staff also came under fire. It is easy to criticise anyone sitting outside without knowing the true facts of what is happening inside," he said

https://www.outlookindia.com/newssc...stan-nca-chief-regrets-mudassar-nazar/1851618

 

[chacha kashmiri]

"Are you concerned about the careers of players like Zeeshan Malik, Hasan Mohsin, Khushdil Shah, Saif Badar who have also not been picked for the PSL?"



Isn't this a good thing then that they're not playing t20

 

[MenInG]

Former Pakistan international Mudassar Nazar was a batting all-rounder of great verve and skill. Nazar, 66, played 76 Tests and 122 ODIs between 1976 and 1989 and scored over 6,000 international runs and picked 177 wickets.

In fact, Mudassar (231) and Javed Miandad (280 not out) had equalled the record for the highest partnership, at the time, in Test cricket by scoring 451 for the third wicket, against India in Hyderabad in January 1983.

Since retiring, Nazar has overseen Pakistan and the Kenyan national teams. Additionally, he held the role of Director of Development at the Pakistan Cricket Board where he designed and implemented their National Academy and Coach Education programs.

He talks about his playing days, his favourite opening pairs, and the need for a structure in Pakistan cricket.

Q. You have 10 Test hundreds. A lot of them came against India. Was there any additional motivation when facing them?

A. I was mainly a front foot player and low bounce pitches of the sub-continent suited my batting technique. As for motivation against India, with both sets of supporters demanding success, it brought huge pressure and losing was never an option. Having said that, I did not prepare any differently than normal, although after my failure on the 1980 tour of India (he made 231 runs in five Tests with a hundred), I made a slight change in my stance. It worked as I stopped getting trapped on the leg side.

The Mudassar-Mohsin Khan combo or the Greenidge-Haynes combo or the Hayden-Langer combo, why don't we see opening combos like that anymore?

After the First World War, the great opening partnership of (Jack) Hobbs and (Herbert) Sutcliffe came into prominence. After that, it took England 16 years to find a regular opening partner for Len Hutton when Cyril Washbrook joined him in 1946. The history of cricket is littered with such instances. Opening the batting is a difficult task. We were lucky that Mohsin (Khan) and I formed a partnership soon after Majid and Sadiq finished, and it was not long before Saeed Anwar and Aamer Sohail took that position. I hasten to add all of us cannot be compared to the illustrious names you have mentioned but we did provide some solidity to our team.

You were part of teams with great pacers like Imran Khan and spinners like Abdul Qadir, could you speak about that phase?

Pakistan had a great batting line-up in the 1970s. All of them played County cricket in England. But we never really achieved success until Imran came of age. You win Test matches by taking 20 wickets. In Fazal Mahmood, we had a great bowler and he brought huge success to the Pakistan team in our formative years. From then onward we had decent bowlers but none of the quality of Imran. After Imran took 12 wickets in the Sydney Test in 1976, he became a world-class bowler. Suddenly, we had a steady stream of bowlers who wanted to bowl fast. In 1984, the greatest left-arm fast bowler of all time, Wasim Akram, burst onto the scene and took the team to greater heights. Qadir was phenomenal. Sarfraz and Iqbal Qasim were extremely good bowlers too. It was fantastic to have them on our side. We felt once we could put up a good score, we had the bowling strength to win consistently.

Pakistan had a great batting line-up in the 1970s. All of them played County cricket in England. But we never really achieved success until Imran (Khan) came of age. You win Test matches by taking 20 wickets.

The Pakistani team in the 1970s, '80s, '90s and even in the 2000s was filled with great players. But do you feel the talent pipeline has dried up now?

Our domestic cricket lacks facilities. Players who played County cricket honed their skills in England apart from Hanif Mohammad. Ranji Trophy has been part and parcel of Indian cricket for a greater part of a century. We have changed our system umpteen times. No stability and no sense of direction. Until we address that we will always struggle to find success on a consistent basis. There will always be the likes of Wasim and Waqar (Younis) who, through their unbelievable skills, will burst through but once the likes of them fade we will be facing the same old struggle.

Do you regret the lack of bilateral series between India and Pakistan?

I wish India and Pakistan played on a regular basis. It is such a great spectacle, and the world of cricket is a loser (without the bilaterals). Rivalry is as strong as friendship. That is the beauty of it. Play hard to win and accept defeat as part of the game. While the players believe in this, it is a whole lot different for both sets of fans. No anecdotes, as they are private and buried in memorable memories.

Lastly, who in your era would have aced T20s now?

I think all four great all-rounders of my era would have been in huge demand today. Imran, Kapil (Dev), (Ian) Botham and Richard Hadlee along with Viv Richards would have fetched millions of dollars. There are plenty of other names too.

https://sportstar.thehindu.com/cric...an-javed-wasim-akram/article65836333.ece/amp/