What's the secret of success for Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in domestic cricket?

[MenInG]

A veritable win machine, seems to be churning out trophy winning squads without fail.

How do they go about it? Do they have better facilities than the rest of Pakistan? Or is it just the will to succeed?

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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-partner="tweetdeck"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">First-class cricket, T20 format or 50-over tournaments - Khyber Pakhtunkhwa continue their dominance of domestic cricket in Pakistan <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/QeA21?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#QeA21</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Cricket?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Cricket</a> <a href="https://t.co/ViU8uJJqks">pic.twitter.com/ViU8uJJqks</a></p>— Saj Sadiq (@SajSadiqCricket) <a href="https://twitter.com/SajSadiqCricket/status/1476235692690878478?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 29, 2021</a></blockquote>
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[MenInG]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-partner="tweetdeck"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">First-class cricket, T20 format or 50-over tournaments - Khyber Pakhtunkhwa continue their dominance of domestic cricket in Pakistan <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/QeA21?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#QeA21</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Cricket?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Cricket</a> <a href="https://t.co/ViU8uJJqks">pic.twitter.com/ViU8uJJqks</a></p>— Saj Sadiq (@SajSadiqCricket) <a href="https://twitter.com/SajSadiqCricket/status/1476235692690878478?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 29, 2021</a></blockquote>
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5 tournaments in a row! The team to beat.

 

[ElRaja]

they are so professionally run, you have a very good mix of all round cricketers. they are producing domestic champion teams and international level cricketers.

northern i can forsee reaching there level in a few seasons as their talent matures, but teams like central and sindh really need to learn from KP.

anyone from the area who could shed light on what may be the secret to their success?

 

[MenInG]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-partner="tweetdeck"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">So good to see <a href="https://twitter.com/KPCricket19?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@KPCricket19</a> securing their 5th consecutive &#55356;&#57286; in the last two years of domestic cricket. The KP region offers a lot of talent & the results are a proof of that. It’s time cricket goes back to the empty stadiums of Peshawar to inspire the next generation. <a href="https://t.co/HxvG7q28mS">pic.twitter.com/HxvG7q28mS</a></p>— Younus Khan (@YounusK75) <a href="https://twitter.com/YounusK75/status/1476273604849504257?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 29, 2021</a></blockquote>
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[Bewal Express]

With the talent coming through in KP ,it won't be too long before calls are made for an extra FC them for KP

 

[Saj]

Also worth mentioning that some of their players are playing for other teams in various tournaments.

 

[ElRaja]

i think KP is being short changed by claiming it is all talent, clearly they are running their game in a way that there are path ways for their players to express themselves at the highest domestic level.

there must be something going on at grass roots level for guys like rizwan, shaheen etc to emerge, it cant be talent alone imo. whether it is academies, or lots of club cricket, or general participation levels.

maybe someone local would be better placed to go into details.

 

[Markhor]

The obvious answer is having the best players but as mentioned above perhaps a local PPer can explain how they are producing so much quality.

KPK have been fantastic since the 2019 domestic revamp in all formats. They won the treble last year and look odds on to do it again !

 

[RedwoodOriginal]

They always seem to have the most well-balanced squad. They've got guys with experience, talented youngsters and domestic bullies.

A team like Northern has perhaps an overreliance on young talent. Whereas, a team like Central Punjab (fairly strong on-paper) has a highly unbalanced side because once the main players (Azhar Ali, Faheem Ashraf, Abid Ali) leave for national duty, the replacements simply aren't good enough to pick up the slack.

Balochistan, Southern Punjab struggle with similar issues of balance. Sindh not getting to the final surprises me because after KPK they have perhaps the most well-balanced side on-paper.

KPK have also been lucky that some of their key players like Kamran Ghulam and Sajid Khan have bloomed in recent years. Whereas others like Asif Afridi, Sahibzada Farhan, Arshad Iqbal and Mohammad Wasim are now on an upward trajectory.

 

[RedwoodOriginal]

i think KP is being short changed by claiming it is all talent, clearly they are running their game in a way that there are path ways for their players to express themselves at the highest domestic level.

there must be something going on at grass roots level for guys like rizwan, shaheen etc to emerge, it cant be talent alone imo. whether it is academies, or lots of club cricket, or general participation levels.

maybe someone local would be better placed to go into details.

I don't think Shaheen's emergence can be attributed to KPK because he played most of his cricket in Lahore before getting noticed and making it to U-19s.

 

[ElRaja]

I don't think Shaheen's emergence can be attributed to KPK because he played most of his cricket in Lahore before getting noticed and making it to U-19s.

agreed, but he has said his brother was a huge influence in his development, and afaik he did play a lot in kpk in his younger years.

 

[the Great Khan]

I believe there has been some investment by local govt in local sports..e.g. grounds coaching etc..I would like to hear from people in kpk who can confirm but a cursory glance on the net shows alot of activity going on with regards to access to facilities and coaching.

Its worth looking in to. Also has the parchi system been broken in kpk now? Punjab and sindh still suffer..

 

[Major]

There was a time when Peshawar or KPK was just another Baluchistan type team where the rest of Pakistan played in and it would hardly make it through. But it is true that they have become the all time mighty team. In the departments the mighty team used to be SNGPL where the team management would hire the best of the best and make sure win every other series.

The reason why KPK is a successful team is attributed to two things:
-Large Pool of Players
-No extra bagage
-The new domestic structure (With Fata being merged into KPK)

Large Pool of Players:
A large portion of the population of KPK has been migrating to different cities of Pakistan. Lots of pathans exist in Islamabad/Pindi for example. The reason for that is due to the work opportunity. Some also shift here due to education. Interestingly they shift to these areas as a family.

Thus, many of their children or sibling than end up taking up the sport aswell and start playing. KPK has a very large pool of players playing all over Pakistan. Thus, whenever KPK has to make a team than alot of these cricketers have the option to play for kpk or in the city where the play.

For example, Nasir Nawaz is from Waziristan but lives in Rawalpindi. If in future he is not getting selected in the Pindi team, he has the option to play from KPK.

KPK has a very large pool of players existing all over Pakistan.

No Extra Bagage:

This is the biggest factor in KPK becoming a strong team. If you look at teams like Central Punjab etc they have to play the likes of Umar Akmal, Kamran Akmal, Ahmed Shezad and all. They will always keep their spots due to seniority. I am not against this concept, but I do belief that if you want to keep players of the past than they should be atleast good.

KPK does not have this problem. They never had any extra bagage player. Even if they did in the shape of Hamza Mir, Junaid Khan or Umar Gul. They allowed them to play for other cities while Peshawar picked up more guys.

Guys like Iftikhar Ahmad, Sahibzada Farhan, Mohammad Rizwan, Fakhar Zaman and many others were able to transitions into the main squad at the right time.

Guys like Rafatullah Mohamand had to be removed (probably made coach to earn) and the right decision was made to keep seniors like Israrullah on the bench till they perform just like the juniors coming in.

Thus, spots were not wasted. Guys like Iftikhar got a chance aswell.

A person like Sajid Khan was able to play for kpk and his performance led to Pakistan test cap. Trust me, had this Sajid Khan been in some other region I doubt he would had made it as other teams would had not given him a chance.

New Domestic Structure:
Let me remind you that even before the new domestic structure was proposed, Peshawar was doing very well in the T20 as they had won the finals with the help of Rafatullah, Rizwan, Iftikhar and Imran Khan jr (medium pacer)

However, the domestic structure changed helped KPK alot as now they were able to tap into the Abbottabad pool. Fata was also merged into KPK thus enlarging the pool further.

Thus, guys like Shaheen Afridi, Asif Afridi, and Waseem jr were added in the team. Fata was a terrible team. It was more of an Afridi clan team where only 2-3 players were good and the rest were just a waste of space. Thus, the 2-3 that were good they now play for KPK.

Plus, all these KPK players are actually really good. Iftikhar Ahmad is one hell of a player that doesnt get the respect here.

Anyways, this is what I see on paper, but on ground there might be many more factors like club cricket and coaching etc.

 

[mazkhan]

That's an excellent summary by major , top post nailed it

 

[gazza619]

KPK could alone play better test cricket then some of the lower tier test teams out there.

 

[Colorblind Genius]

There is only ONE MAN behind the success of KP cricket and this is the same man who continuously helps to produce good cricketers from KP in the last 2 decades.

His name is Qazi Shafiq AKA, Shafiq Lala.

I briefly played with Shafiq before I walked away from first class cricket in late 80's but this man has taken cricket dedication to a whole new level.

He is strict, he is hot headed, he is stern and he is tough, but boy! He knows how to earn respect and he knows how to get the job done. He has a class of his own.

 

[MenInG]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-partner="tweetdeck"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">It is also important to highlight the structure people like Rifatullah Mohmand and Aslam Qureshi has put in place with KP 2nd XI. It's working as a channel to bring talent to 1st XI and have produced performers like Wasim Khan, Sajid and Kamran Ghulam for us. Great work! <a href="https://t.co/lHNjRUbA7l">https://t.co/lHNjRUbA7l</a></p>— Mohammad Rizwan (@iMRizwanPak) <a href="https://twitter.com/iMRizwanPak/status/1477269977484963846?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 1, 2022</a></blockquote>
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[Saj]

I asked this question to a friend who is very friendly with some of the KP cricketers.

He said the main thing is the desire and hunger to succeed as many of the players have had pretty difficult upbringings and have not had it easy. So they grab every single opportunity and make the most of every chance that is avail to them, more than cricketers from other parts of Pakistan who have had things much easier in life and in cricket.

He said some of the players may not be as skilful as cricketers from other parts of Pakistan, but they make up for that with the hunger to succeed and for hard work.

 

[Bewal Express]

KP are well deserved champs and are getting the balance right between young and old. They have an enormous depth to the squad and if this continues, a case could be made for a 2nd team from KP.
Whats annoying is the lethargy and lack of motivation from an ageing Sindh team that looks like a team created to give jobs to the boys. PK needs a strong Sindh team

 

[ElRaja]

KP are well deserved champs and are getting the balance right between young and old. They have an enormous depth to the squad and if this continues, a case could be made for a 2nd team from KP.
Whats annoying is the lethargy and lack of motivation from an ageing Sindh team that looks like a team created to give jobs to the boys. PK needs a strong Sindh team

sindh finished within a whisker of qualifying for the final. you may disagree with their methods, but they didnt perform all that badly.

id have far more criticism for central punjab. for a region which covers lahore and other major urban centres their performance has been terrible.

whilst northern fielded 6 players 21 or younger in the final, cp for their last game of season, by which time they were virtually out of the final, fielded one player under 25.

through three seasons of QeA trophy CP have been relying on the players that they had from the first season, mainly abid ali and hassan ali, having failed to develop anyone to build their team around.

at least sindh have given players like abrar ahmed and saad khan some platform to improve and develop. CP are neither providing stern competition to other teams, developing youngsters, or improving their own players, which given the region they represent, makes me argue that they are one of the weakest teams in the league.

i was going to make a separate topic for this but didnt know if it warranted it, so [MENTION=93712]MenInG[/MENTION] if you think it does please make a seperate topic.

 

[MenInG]

sindh finished within a whisker of qualifying for the final. you may disagree with their methods, but they didnt perform all that badly.

id have far more criticism for central punjab. for a region which covers lahore and other major urban centres their performance has been terrible.

whilst northern fielded 6 players 21 or younger in the final, cp for their last game of season, by which time they were virtually out of the final, fielded one player under 25.

through three seasons of QeA trophy CP have been relying on the players that they had from the first season, mainly abid ali and hassan ali, having failed to develop anyone to build their team around.

at least sindh have given players like abrar ahmed and saad khan some platform to improve and develop. CP are neither providing stern competition to other teams, developing youngsters, or improving their own players, which given the region they represent, makes me argue that they are one of the weakest teams in the league.

i was going to make a separate topic for this but didnt know if it warranted it, so [MENTION=93712]MenInG[/MENTION] if you think it does please make a seperate topic.

that's fine - please create new but make sure your opening post makes a strong case.

 

[Giannis]

Pukhtoons are just gifted. It was about time they dominated cricket and eventually they'll dominate the army, government, business and entertainment, they already punch above their weight in those fields.

 

[Greenstorm]

Pukhtoons are just gifted. It was about time they dominated cricket and eventually they'll dominate the army, government, business and entertainment, they already punch above their weight in those fields.

This. We have a pathan PM already and Pakhtuns have probably replaced North Punjab for most inductees in military.

They are hardworking and straight forward people who will take over most of important positions in the country.

 

[Greenstorm]

Afridi should get some credit as well. He has inspired Pakhtuns to take up cricket, even across border in Afghanistan.

 

[Giannis]

Afridi should get some credit as well. He has inspired Pakhtuns to take up cricket, even across border in Afghanistan.

I would credit Imran Khan, a lot of Afghan and Pakistani players name him as their favorite player that inspired them

 

[thelandofthebravepeople]

Pashtun 11 T20

1.Rahmanullah Gurbaz
2.Mohammad Rizwan
3.Fakhar Zaman
4.Haidar Ali
5.Iftekhar
6.Nabi
7.Mohammad Nawaz
8.Rashid Khan
9.Mohammad Wasim
10. Shaheen Shah
11. Mujeeb

 

[moghul]

sindh finished within a whisker of qualifying for the final. you may disagree with their methods, but they didnt perform all that badly.

id have far more criticism for central punjab. for a region which covers lahore and other major urban centres their performance has been terrible.

whilst northern fielded 6 players 21 or younger in the final, cp for their last game of season, by which time they were virtually out of the final, fielded one player under 25.

through three seasons of QeA trophy CP have been relying on the players that they had from the first season, mainly abid ali and hassan ali, having failed to develop anyone to build their team around.

at least sindh have given players like abrar ahmed and saad khan some platform to improve and develop. CP are neither providing stern competition to other teams, developing youngsters, or improving their own players, which given the region they represent, makes me argue that they are one of the weakest teams in the league.

i was going to make a separate topic for this but didnt know if it warranted it, so [MENTION=93712]MenInG[/MENTION] if you think it does please make a seperate topic.

I agree , CP needs some postmortem ( hence a new thread ) of their poor performance and not giving any chance to youngsters. There was a time when more than half of the players in Pakistan team were from Lahore and now hardly any new talent coming from there because oldies keep blocking the youngsters.

 

[Giannis]

Pashtun 11 T20

1.Rahmanullah Gurbaz
2.Mohammad Rizwan
3.Fakhar Zaman
4.Haidar Ali
5.Iftekhar
6.Nabi
7.Mohammad Nawaz
8.Rashid Khan
9.Mohammad Wasim
10. Shaheen Shah
11. Mujeeb

Rizwan over Muhammad Shahzad?

 

[shah_1]

It is because there is a lot of private tournaments being played there

 

[Greenstorm]

Pashtun 11 T20

1.Rahmanullah Gurbaz
2.Mohammad Rizwan
3.Fakhar Zaman
4.Haidar Ali
5.Iftekhar
6.Nabi
7.Mohammad Nawaz
8.Rashid Khan
9.Mohammad Wasim
10. Shaheen Shah
11. Mujeeb

Haider and Nawaz are non Pashtuns.

 

[Bewal Express]

Haider and Nawaz are non Pashtuns.

Is there an improvement on the ground for facilities that was promised by the KP govt or is it just guff. I am not talking about big stadiums, i am asking for about club grounds

 

[KingOfPakBreakfast]

KP are well deserved champs and are getting the balance right between young and old. They have an enormous depth to the squad and if this continues, a case could be made for a 2nd team from KP.
Whats annoying is the lethargy and lack of motivation from an ageing Sindh team that looks like a team created to give jobs to the boys. PK needs a strong Sindh team

I'll disagree here brother, I had a similar impression of Sindh from the 20/21 season, but Basit has atleast tried to include more younger lads this year (Mo Umar, Dahani, Omair Bin Yousuf, Saad Khan etc). I believe he can do more, as Sarfy and friends (Asad Shafiq, Khurram Manzoor, Ahsan Ali, Asad Ali) still tend to be mainstays.

 

[Bewal Express]

I'll disagree here brother, I had a similar impression of Sindh from the 20/21 season, but Basit has atleast tried to include more younger lads this year (Mo Umar, Dahani, Omair Bin Yousuf, Saad Khan etc). I believe he can do more, as Sarfy and friends (Asad Shafiq, Khurram Manzoor, Ahsan Ali, Asad Ali) still tend to be mainstays.

Sindh have Karachi and Karachi has traditionally produced our better batters. The likes of Khurram and Asad and bowlers like Sohail and Tabish etc should have been moved on.

 

[Greenstorm]

I would credit Imran Khan, a lot of Afghan and Pakistani players name him as their favorite player that inspired them

IK was a star in 80s but a regular stream of Pashtun players started in late 2000s so I believe Afridi had more impact.

Moreover, IK cannot speak pashto and therefore many pashtuns don't regard him as true pathan.

 

[Greenstorm]

Is there an improvement on the ground for facilities that was promised by the KP govt or is it just guff. I am not talking about big stadiums, i am asking for about club grounds

I live in Islamabad. Some KPK local can tell better but from what I have heard, there has been very little progress since IK took this initiative.

 

[Bewal Express]

I live in Islamabad. Some KPK local can tell better but from what I have heard, there has been very little progress since IK took this initiative.

We needs grounds and good pitches for club cricket. It's the only way to improve the standard of cricket at the bottom, which filters through to FC cricket