After spending almost a decade serving Pakistan and its cricketers, Aaqib Javed now arrives on the shores of UAE to take charge of supervising the national team of the Emirates.
In an exclusive interview with PakPassion.net, Aaqib looks back at his close involvement with Pakistani cricket and the future talent at its disposal and also gives an insight to future plans for his new team in the UAE.
By Pakpassion Staff (8th March 2012)
PakPassion.net : When do you start your role as the UAE head coach?
Aaqib Javed : I?m starting at the end of March.
PakPassion.net : You must be looking forward to it? It?s a great opportunity for you to enhance your coaching skills.
Aaqib Javed : I have been working for the Pakistan Cricket Board for many years. It?s a nice change; I just wanted to try a different area, work with different people and this offers an opportunity to broaden my future options.
PakPassion.net : What will you miss most about your role of bowling coach in Pakistan and at the National Cricket Academy in Lahore?
Aaqib Javed : I have had lot of direct association with the players since around 2002, which was when I commenced my tenure as a coach at the academy. There are many players who I have seen develop and break into the national team from the pool I have worked with during this period. I have continued to have very close relations with many of the players and will definitely miss them -no doubt somebody else will come and work with them but that is the way life goes.
PakPassion.net : As you say it is a big opportunity as head coach of UAE, with a lot of good players to work with. What goals have you set for yourself?
Aaqib Javed : Firstly I have to go there and study their system and have already been working on developing an understaing of their system. One of my desires is to convince them that individual teams are required for each area - like for Abu Dhabi, Sharjah, Dubai and Al-Ain. Form the teams and then give them an opportunity to play each other.
I will try to start with 2-day cricket as you play in Australian grade cricket ? about 110 overs a day. I think introducing the 2-day games gives the players an experience similar to that of 4-day cricket that they play in the first division.
Another thing to note is that everybody has his own philosophy as coach. I believe my philosophy to be that of providing and teaching the boys methods of progression - always give them a path, as this is the best way of moving forward. I can focus on some of the limitations, as most of the guys can only donate a few hours per week to training. Somehow, we have to plan something that is compatible with their daily routines, so they can work and train at the same time.
PakPassion.net : Would you like to see the UAE cricketers given professional contracts so that they can become full-time? Is that something you have in mind?
Aaqib Javed : I think the future of UAE cricket will be quite different in the coming months and years, mainly due to the fact we are planning to start T20 tours which will help the Emirates Cricket Board gain valuable income which they can spend on players. I think it'll take just one year.
My dream is that UAE should qualify for the T20 World Cup as Afghanistan did. There is a lot of potential in the UAE due to the number of Pakistani, Indian, Sri Lankan and Bangladeshi people who are living there and and have maintained their passion for the sport. So the potential is there, we just need to put the system right and provide them the facilities and expertise to enable them to can achieve their goals.
I think the biggest challenge I see now will be working with the young UAE players, as the Under-19s World Cup will be held in UAE in two and half years time. Given the UAE will be playing as hosts, I think it offers a wonderful opportunity to work with the Under-16s and Under-17s and prepare them for the U-19 World Cup. I have dealt in the past with the Pakistani Under-19 team and in fact I was the coach for the first Under-19 World Cup win for Pakistan. It is a long term goal, but it is something I am really looking forward to.
PakPassion.net : How long is the contract you have signed with the UAE?
Aaqib Javed : It is a minimum 3 years contract, which is a long time. I think you can contribute a lot and learn a lot at the same time.
PakPassion.net : You have worked with a number of young Pakistani bowlers and they always praise the work you have done with them. You must be very proud of your achievements. Any particular bowler who you feel very proud with your work with?
Aaqib Javed : There are a many, such as Mohammad Asif, Mohammad Amir, Umar Gul, Mohammad Talha, Aizaz Cheema. For the past eleven years I have been working in different capacities at different stages. I have almost worked with every bowler in Pakistan.
As coach, I think your relationship with players is povital, your thinking is very important and you need to build confidence, which I think is the most important aspect. Once you are working with the guys, sometimes you need to change their actions and change their angles, so trust is very important because if they don't trust you, they will not listen to you and follow your advice.
I am really proud of my work with Junaid Khan because from time to time he came to me, and said whenever you feel like you can change my actions and my angles. I think he turned out to be a very good bowler.
The most important thing is that after working with them, to never try to take any of the credit for what the youngster has achieved. Our job as coaches is to help them reach their targets, at the same time not taking their credit, because ultimately your job is from 9-5 and you can be a very satisfied person - your team may have lost but you will come back satisfied as you have done your job professionally.
I think all the success and the losses of Pakistan, you carry your mistakes and success with you ? One has got to be a very balanced person as sometime it can be very difficult as you have worked 300 days with the boys. It?s difficult, but it?s important to staying normal and honest with yourself
PakPassion.net :You obviously spent a lot of time with Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Amir. Without dwelling too much into what happened, personally you must have been very hurt after all the effort you put in with those boys?
Aaqib Javed : I worked with them when they started. I was the one who picked Mohammad Asif from nowhere and brought him into the academy, and I worked hard with him. And the same thing with Mohammad Amir. At one stage Amir was injured he was carrying a back injury and I took him with me on tour to Zimbabwe and Kenya and looked after him as when you are coming back from injury you need care.
First of all as a former Pakistan Test player and a coach, it is very sad story and I think at the same time I feel sorry for them. However as a former cricketer, you don?t have to give your sympathies for what they have done, because we need to set an example to our youngsters that this is wrong ? this is not on whatever the circumstances. So I am sad, and I would like to move on and forget this matter.
PakPassion.net :Many people are saying that there is not enough talent coming through from Pakistan currently in the fast bowling department. One or two names have been mentioned like Rahat Ali - What do you make of that?
Aaqib Javed : People just recently saw and absorbed the series against England which was a spinner?s paradise. Some people argue that their [England?s] fast bowlers performed better than ours, but their [England?s] batsmen are also more comfortable against fast bowlers than against the spin of Ajmal and Rehman. If you go back a little bit to the series against Zimbabwe, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka and see how Aizaz Cheema bowled and the way Junaid Khan bowled so well against Sri Lanka and particularly bowled well against two of the best batsmen in the world, Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene.
I think we have a few good bowlers, but still they need some time to become outstanding bowlers. Talha has always impressed me, I rate him very highly, he is tall and fast and can swing the ball. He has everything a fast bowler needs, but just needs some time and some encouragement from the team management to establish himself.
Umar Gul just gets better and better. He's not had the opportunity in the past to lead the bowling attack as he was behind the likes of Shoaib Akhtar, Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Amir, but these days he is the leader of the bowling attack and he is responding well to that. Gul has taken on the responsibility of having to lead the bowling attack and has done a very good job ? give him some time. I was impressed with the way he responded in a couple of the Test matches and one of the T20s as he took that responsibility as the No. 1 bowler.
It was satisfying to see Aizaz Cheema's recent improvement and he bowled very well against Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe. Cheema just needs to try and bowl closer to the stumps and we've worked together and I think in time he will bowl even better.
Wahab Riaz just needs some confidence and needs to work on gaining better control.
I think we have a few good fast bowlers, but some of them need some time before they can become outstanding bowlers. They all have a lot of potential and I believe fast bowling will never let down Pakistan.
PakPassion.net :Finally, any exciting young bowlers you have seen, that you see potential in. One of the names being mentioned recently is Rahat Ali. Any others?
Aaqib Javed : One bowler I have seen is Umaid Asif. He's a tall fast bowler, he is very good. Umaid has a very nice high arm action and can swing the ball. Before the series against England in the UAE, I called Umaid and put him into the Academy so that he can develop his bowling further. Upon my return from the UAE I went to see Umaid at the National Cricket Academy and he looks good to me. I think in the upcoming season he is the guy who people can invest in and focus on due to his ability.
Rahat is a good bowler, another who I have high hopes for but he needs to work on his physique especially on his legs. I'm sure though that he will come good, providing he gets the right levels of support.
I think spotting people and working with them is important but the most important thing is that we need to start up our academies again in Pakistan, our regional eleven academies and national academies. This process is more important than Aaqib Javed or any other individual.
PakPassion.net :Many thanks for your time and best of luck for your role in the UAE.
Aaqib Javed : Thank you.
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