Aaqib Javed in a recent media talk shared following thoughts:
On the Revival of Academies and High-Performance Centers
* "To begin with, we are reviving the NCA. Along with this, for the long-waiting women who need proper facilities, we have based them in Karachi so that they definitely feel pressure when you camp in hotels or such places. So, there is a dedicated Women High Performance Centre in Karachi for them."
* "Then right now the Under 19 process is going on which is their World Cup in Feb. So we are starting a process for this in which in the first phase, 60 plus people will come and they will have matches. Then in Second Phase their tournament is Regionals. Then finally the 30 players will be trained there till the World Cup."
* "My feedback today is that we have been feeling that your players come directly to the Pakistani team from the regional setup, from first class. So there are many things that they should learn first. The job of academies is that you play in domestic. You come into the system and a lot of these things, for instance, are your communications. There is awareness of your diet, awareness of training and basic things related to your fielding, especially sliding, diving, etc., are addressed in high performances."
* "So I think that in the coming six months forward you will see a change in the players, in your system, in your Under-19 women, so Inshallah I can see that the old system which was running properly from 2003 eventually till 2008-09, we are going to do a lot of development here with reference to the NCA."
* "Some new pitches are going to be made in this. We are bringing some hybrid pitches. We are activating the biomechanics lab. A professional one which is in the gym, unless you upgrade the science and technology facilities, you will not be able to compete with the world in that way. So I think that after these 6 months you will see a different NCA which will help the players a lot in the future."
On the Decline and Revival of Club Cricket
* "Oh brother, all the services of the cricket club in Pakistan cricket are not recognised at any level that there is any mind in your mind, such a thing that the club, the first club is the nursery, so you are producing nurseries of the first region, by making clubs of the districts, the boy who comes from the club plays in the Pakistan team, has the PCB ever recognised that club, who gave us the boy, there should be some incentive for that club."
* "See, with regard to the club, if you ask me honestly, then everything changes with time, the club cricket which was very strong in our time, school cricket was very strong, colleges, universities were very strong because I also came to Lahore Civil Lines College from Sheikhupura because those were the nurseries of your cricket."
* "So now if you see, if you do a survey, then your club cricket has, if not almost ended, then it has reduced a lot because there are one, two, three things in which, firstly the grounds have reduced and secondly the distance for which the children used to come to play has increased a lot."
* "So this PCB wants the club to do something for cricket but it has become very difficult to run the club. This means that no club produced you nor did it produce you; what did it get in producing you? Nobody recognized him or did anything about it. I said let's revive it, maybe it will get revived and become better. Of course efforts should be made but I have told you the reality that you cannot believe that club cricket will now become like it was in our times."
* "Whoever is trying and working hard, they should definitely be supported."
On Player Development and Specialized Camps
* "Right now, this larger group mostly has a wide ball in it because Mike, the coach, the bowling coach and the batting coach had noted down a few things in their mind because their camp is being held in Karachi from 8th-8th, so before that, the plan was to work on their techniques."
* "One thing you must note is that the difference which we feel is that players nowadays are mostly moving from one competition to another, third competition, leagues, first class but there is a time, personal time of a player that in the off season he should work on his skills, work on his fitness. He was unable to find the time."
* "So now these players are also realizing that every year, after every four months, you need two-three weeks in which you can work on your bodies. Work on your skills. And as soon as this is over, our target is that there is a group of red balls and a group of white balls. Both of you should keep in mind what challenges are coming ahead. Like South Africa's test series is to come to Pakistan. So keeping these things in mind, its planning will be done."
* "See, work will be done on this throughout the year and all your specialized camps, we used to tag spinners with wicketkeepers, fast bowlers with openers, so such programs will also go, but a little change in this has now forced us to think and we have done that under all your domestic competitions like you have under 15, at the regional level there is under 17, under 19 and first class."
* "So as soon as there is a tournament in the whole country for under 15, we will select the best 30 players of that and them above that age because when you keep a child for long term, we see gaps in his diet, in the team, in your national team, he should be given training at a young age needs to be addressed from."
* "So the plan is to keep them in one place. Sialkot Academy, we have planned to keep 30 groups of Under 13 there. Their schooling, their education, their grooming, everything should be done from there. Then 17 is the decision. Then there is 19 Multan. Then you have your Emerging Air Team and National Players here at NCA."
* "No, look, the specialized camp you are talking about is a program in which you have to go to those areas where there is less untapped cricket, so whatever components we need, whether we need fast bowlers, spinners, we will go and find them and train them, so only by mixing both the systems, you can get better results."
* "The idea behind those specialized camps is that you go from LETS to FATA, you go to Bachistan, find the talent from there and train it."
* "We have dedicated academies Sialkot Under 15, Faisla Under 17, Multan Under 19 and under NC, you will have emerging players, A team and national players."
* "It seems like when you sit with a player, you talk to him, all his data, all the cricket he has played in the last one year, then you see which area it is, there is no such player in the world who is a batsman everywhere, is comfortable against every ball and bowler."
* "So we sit with the player and identify the area where this skill really needs work. And then it is not like the coach directly comes and tells you to start doing this. A plan is made by sitting with the player. Then work on it."
On Player Selection and Performance
* "One thing you said is how will you do it for age group? We have dedicated academies Sialkot Under 15, Faisla Under 17, Multan Under 19 and under NC, you will have emerging players, A team and national players."
* "Ah secondly you said that yes ah the second question was that cricketers definitely you also know that the players also know that which player fits in where and in today's challenging cricket, there is a challenge in front of you every time. So it is not like we have decided that these are for the red ball, these are for the white ball. Challenges come before you. You have to meet them that way and the opportunity is the same for everyone."
* "He has said that Babar Azam is also going to come. Be it Babar Azam or anyone else, be it Babar Azam or anyone else. This game is open for everyone. Now you see that some time back we did not fix your age or time such that after that you cannot improve or become better. Can't join the team."
* "There was a lot of criticism regarding Khushal and Faheem Ashraf. But he has really proved that these are better options at this time and no matter who the player is, if you judge yourself by your performance, anyone can play and everyone has the right to play. Be it Babar or anyone else."
On Future Prospects and Leadership
* "Look, this is the process. The process should not stop. We stop the process in the middle. The way it started. Now, if people recall a bit about that time, we used to have a line of players, you know why was it so because your process kept going on."
* "If you prepare 30 players for Under-15 today, then after three-four years you will see them in Under-19. Those who are from Under 19 will be seen in Pakistan Shine."
* "And in the same way, if we let this system work and it works, then I was also looking at this coming championship, the new scenario that has come up, Pakistan is looking to have very positive chances."
* "There are some things, I also feel that with our reverse swing, we used to rule the world. Now the world has moved ahead with learning. We are struggling in that. So in this way, there will be some specific things on which we will focus because the red ball cricket that will be played in Pakistan now will be a little different from what we have been playing before. So Spain reverse swing will play a big role in that."
* "So we are aware of it and will address it from today and I think that you will put Pakistan in a very good position in the upcoming Test Championship."
* "Look, whoever is the captain of the world or even our captain, ever since Rizwan was with us, we have never had an argument on even a single thing. Because whatever decisions you have to take, you take them in consultation with the captain. So I don't think, I don't remember a single incident where our mutual understanding is not on the same page."
* "See, as you have noted, one thing which you must have noticed from this is that your earlier bowlers used to bowl very good yorkers and reverse swing. So definitely you have noticed and we have also noticed this thing about a player, where he is comfortable, at which area he is not a bit effective, he needs improvement, we will work on targeted things."
* "And definitely in this system, as it has started from today, I can see in six months you will definitely see results, whether it is your women's cricket, your under-19 cricket or your national teams."
