"There is a big problem that senior players try to linger on in their careers" : Waqar Younis

[Abdullah719]

"There is a big problem that senior players try to linger on in their careers" : Waqar Younis

ISLAMABAD: Former Pakistan cricketer Waqar Younis feels that the senior players in the team do not retire on time and there is no one in the team to tell them so.

“Till the last moment, our World Cup squad was not final and clear. There is a big problem that senior players try to linger on in their careers and there is no one to tell them it is time for them to retire gracefully,” said Waqar Younis .

Waqar Younis urged the Pakistan Cricket Board to make no compromises on fitness and form to avoid a debacle like the just-concluded World Cup, Cricket Country reported.

“The way we struggled to win against Afghanistan in the final over it should not be like that. Our biggest problem is we make compromises in selection on fitness issues, seniority, and other matters,” the legendary cricketer added.Waqar also expressed concern over the sort of the abusive criticism that the team was subjected to following its World Cup ouster.

”I think criticism should be civilised and not personal and we shouldn’t fall below decency standards,” he said.

https://www.brecorder.com/2019/07/1...ior-players-dont-retire-on-time-waqar-younis/

 

[zn426]

He said the same thing when he was about to be dismissed, which shows consistency. Perhaps he can be the one to accomplish that vital task. Definitely not head coach, definitely not chief selector, but perhaps there's a role for him in the selection board or in a role where he manages player relations.

 

[Savak]

Lol says a guy who refused to accept any responsibility for the 2003 WC debacle, refused to retire and had to be continously not picked for a year before he had no choice but to call it a day

 

[Hasan123]

Coming from a guy who prolonged his career and picked a 39 year old in a bilateral T20, also he wanted Salman Butt to play in the last World T20 ) . Also talking about fitness against Afghanistan when our issue was a lack of specialist spinner and ability to play spin. Just exposing his lack of insight again.

He is right about seniors carrying on far too long. But this is a guy who backed Malik return, Misbah for playing as long as he wants, Hafeez at 32 being backed for the 2015 WC. So he is the last person to talk.


One of my all time favourite bowlers, but a rubbish tactician and poor coach at international level.

 

[salman24]

He said the same thing when he was about to be dismissed, which shows consistency. Perhaps he can be the one to accomplish that vital task. Definitely not head coach, definitely not chief selector, but perhaps there's a role for him in the selection board or in a role where he manages player relations.

He is not very good at managing people so no that's not a good position for him imo

 

[Mamoon]

Waqar would have played till the 2007 World Cup if the PCB didn’t force him out, even though he is a massive age-fudger.

 

[WC-Passion]

This has to be one of the most hypocritical statements I've heard in the past year.

 

[ManFan]

Just because he may or may not have cheated with his age, doesn’t change the validity of his statements.

 

[Pete Rose]

Ok getting beyond ‘he himself...’ blah blah, he is right. Hafeez and Malik shouldn’t be playing cricket for Pakistan.

 

[hitthestump]

Lol says a guy who refused to accept any responsibility for the 2003 WC debacle, refused to retire and had to be continously not picked for a year before he had no choice but to call it a day

This seems harsh. His official age was only around 32-33 if i remember correctly and he was bowling fairly well.

 

[Savak]

Waqar would have played till the 2007 World Cup if the PCB didn’t force him out, even though he is a massive age-fudger.

The PCB were correct to move him on, he was way past it and could not even impress in county cricket and domestic cricket. It was a mistake to let him play the 2003 WC as he was the weakest link in the attack who constantly leaked runs

 

[Junaids]

The worst offenders currently are Azhar Ali in Tests and Hafeez In ODIs.

Both need to be forcibly retired. Their contemporaries from every other country have long since retired.

 

[Belawal2014]

Waqar would have played till the 2007 World Cup if the PCB didn’t force him out, even though he is a massive age-fudger.

Massive reach.

 

[sshakir411]

The habit of carrying senior ducks in this World Cup was the reason we couldn't get going until it got late. Not surprised the usual suspects are out on a character assassination mission...

 

[JibranAnsari]

Lol says a guy who refused to accept any responsibility for the 2003 WC debacle, refused to retire and had to be continously not picked for a year before he had no choice but to call it a day

waqar was 31 years old in 2003 , his odi form was good and in his last two years he got 100 wickets in 63 matches and in his last year he got 59 wickets in 42 matches at an average of 27. Hardly a sign of a dying career.

 

[Majid Khan]

Agree it’s a big problem when seniors linger on , but it’s an even bigger problem when mediocre and totally flop seniors linger on - not mentioning any names, but I think the word mediocre might have given it away.

It’s one thing to have an ageing legends like Wasim and Waqar half as good as they once were wanting to hang on in their 30s and yet ironically still being superior and more skilful bowlers to all their competitors, or an aging Inzamam or Misbah even at 44 still regularly having days where he was the only batsman fighting a lone battle and scoring consistently, That’s one thing - but to have mediocre batsmen who deliver nothing when it matters or against strong teams, then wanting to play on and keep their undeserved place in the team for as long as they can, that’s a much bigger problem.

 

[PakPremi]

Majid Khan is right it does not matter if in past legends tried to prolong their careers, atleast they contributed heavily throughout their careers and were still good enough to contribute somewhat in their last playing days. The seniors Waqar is talking about were mediocre at their prime and worse now, so why should they not be told to retire. Once again good point raised by Waqar.

 

[Markhor]

Do I even need to say anything here ?

Waqar should've retired after 2001 Natwest Series. His 2003 WC squad was full of over the hill seniors.

Under his tenure as coach, it was Pep Guardiola who blessed us with another Shoaib Malik comeback.

 

[Abid Z]

This seems harsh. His official age was only around 32-33 if i remember correctly and he was bowling fairly well.

Waqar could have played a bit longer but in reality around that time we had at least 3 world class bowlers that never quite made it as leaders of the attack. Shohaib, Sami and shabbir Ahmed.

We had three medium pacers that were truly competitive umar gul, rana Naveed rao iftakhar...(mohd asif debuted a year later)

We had the makings of a good spin attack in kaneria, Shohaib Malik and hafeez.

All these guys emerged around the time or 12 months after Waqar and wasim retired.

However in the case of hafeez today the argument just doesn’t hold as there don’t seem to be any off spinning all rounders in Pakistan. It’s not enough to push seniors into retirement but we also need somebody to take their place who will be as good if not better.

 

[Ram Shekhar]

Didn't Waqar himself extend his career in this way?

 

[moghul]

Misbah started this problem.

 

[moghul]

Didn't Waqar himself extend his career in this way?

Waqar left a bit too soon.

 

[Abdullah719]

Waqar blasts senior players for overstretching their careers

KARACHI: Former captain Waqar Younis has lamented the senior Pakistan players are guilty of stretching their careers way after they are past their prime, while urging the national board not to compromise on fitness and form to avoid debacles like the just-concluded World Cup.

Pakistan were knocked out in the round-robin stage of the mega-event which ended with hosts England winning the title on Sunday.

“Till the last moment, our World Cup squad was not final and clear. There is a big problem that senior players try to linger on in their careers and there is no one to tell them it is time for them to retire gracefully,” the legendary fast bowler remarked without taking any specifying any names in an interview to a national daily.

“For the last so many years, we see the same thing. At the last moment, seniors are brought in as the authorities are scared to lose in a big tournament,” he added.

Taking a swipe at those defending Pakistan’s performance in the World Cup on the basis of the fact that the team won its last four matches, Waqar made it clear the team should never have been in such a position.

“The way we struggled to win against Afghanistan in the final over it should not be like that. Our biggest problem is we make compromises in selection on fitness issues, seniority, and other matters,” he said.

Waqar, who was replaced as head coach of the national team in 2016 by Mickey Arthur after a nearly two-and-half-year stint, said it was clear in the World Cup that the fitness of Pakistani players was way below the other competing sides in the tournament.

“After every World Cup, we see the same script in our cricket with only the characters changed. But this is not the way to move forward we need to assess where we are going wrong,” he said.

“Every four years we do the same exercise change the captain, sack the coaches and shoot the chief selector and blame the domestic structure but this leads to nowhere and the same mistakes are repeated again,” he added.

Waqar said five years back he had given a comprehensive plan to the Pakistan Cricket Board on how to take the game forward.

“I told them no compromises on fitness, development of players who can play at the rate of 3½ and 4 runs per over and seniors being told to retire at the right time but nothing came off it,” he said.

Waqar also insisted that he had no ambitions to become the team’s head coach again.

“There is a new set-up in the PCB and they have new ideas which are good but it is not necessary I can do something good for Pakistan cricket only being the head coach. I can do that in any position. If the PCB offers me something I will definitely think over it,” he said.

But Waqar also expressed concern over the sort of the abusive criticism that the team was subjected to following its World Cup ouster.

“...I think criticism should be civilised and not personal and we shouldn’t fall below decency standards,” he said.

https://www.dawn.com/news/1494661/waqar-blasts-senior-players-for-overstretching-their-careers

 

[Savak]

waqar was 31 years old in 2003 , his odi form was good and in his last two years he got 100 wickets in 63 matches and in his last year he got 59 wickets in 42 matches at an average of 27. Hardly a sign of a dying career.

Lol at Waqar being 31 years old in 2003. Everyone knows his official age needs to be taken with a pinch of salt. His stats are also misleading, he was way over the hill and a liability as a bowler and would not have made the 2003 WC squad if he was not captain

 

[Sycamore]

says the guy, who recommended misbah as captain. says the guy who himself played another WC when he was over the hill. Says the guy who selected younis khan in the starting line up for WC 2015. Says the guy who selected razzaq for WC 2011. It is a pakistani tradition to carry over the hill seniors to each WC.

 

[Majestic_Inzi]

if Hafeez still doesnt get the message then he has no shame, needs to make room for youngsters.

 

[Gharib Aadmi]

The problem is not that players want to keep on playing, but the problem is that selectors wont drop non performing players due to pressure.

 

[hitthestump]

Do I even need to say anything here ?

Waqar should've retired after 2001 Natwest Series. His 2003 WC squad was full of over the hill seniors.

Under his tenure as coach, it was Pep Guardiola who blessed us with another Shoaib Malik comeback.

He was a beast in this series, why retire?

Wasim should have retired at this point and maybe we'd have gotten more mileage out of Waqar without the backroom politics.

 

[hitthestump]

Lol at Waqar being 31 years old in 2003. Everyone knows his official age needs to be taken with a pinch of salt. His stats are also misleading, he was way over the hill and a liability as a bowler and would not have made the 2003 WC squad if he was not captain

Captaincy and infighting wore him down but the next best fast bowlers after him were still Fazl-E-Akbar types. Would have easily made the squad.

 

[RedwoodOriginal]

Waqar would have played till the 2007 World Cup if the PCB didn’t force him out, even though he is a massive age-fudger.

Would he have been good till then though?

I think he could have atleast played till 2005

 

[RedwoodOriginal]

Professor sb is in no mood to hang-up his boots eventhough he is becoming largely irrelevent in ODIs. Hafeez like most others needs to through a poor run of form before he comes to his senses and retires voluntarily...from ODIs atleast