Coach Sabih Azhar speaks to PakPassion.

by Suliman Baig and Usama Ahmed  (17 January 2011)

PakPassion.Net: There's a lot of discussion currently going on at PakPassion in regards to Nasir Malik and Sadaf Hussain. How do you view them and when do you think they will be ready to play international cricket?

Sabih Azhar: Both players, Nasir and Sadaf, are very talented young bowlers. This is the first time that they are playing a full season. They will gain a lot of experience in the upcoming year because there is one-day tournament coming up and we also have a T20 tournament, so they will get the chance to play in various formats of the game. This will get them experience and raise their confidence. I think that they can be ready to play for Pakistan in about one or two years. Sadaf, especially, should be playing for Pakistan and performing well in about one year. 


PakPassion.Net: Do you think Nasir and Sadaf are ready to play for the Pakistan 'A' team in any upcoming 'A' team series?

Sabih Azhar: Definitely. Sadaf is the highest wicket taker in the Quaid-e-Azam trophy, which is Pakistan's top tournament. He is one of the top bowlers and I think he will definitely get a chance in the 'A' team soon. But he has to make the most of any chances. A bowler has a greater chance of making the team and sometimes all it takes is one good tour with the 'A' team to get called up. There are some gaps in the current Pakistani bowling side, so if he works hard he will be able to make it.


PakPassion.Net: Rawalpindi has produced some very good fast bowlers over the years. In your opinion, how has the Rawalpindi region produced such high quality fast bowlers?

Sabih Azhar: You can say that they are God gifted. A lot of the fast bowlers aren't really from Rawalpindi city. They come from the surrounding areas and the outskirts of the main city. Mohammad Aamer and Najaf Shah came from Gujar Khan, Shoaib Akhtar also came from a neighboring village, and Hammad Azam, the young all-rounder, is also from outside the main city. They were spotted and brought to Rawalpindi where they were groomed and given a chance to play. Thankfully, a lot of these players have gone on to play for Pakistan over the past 3-4 years. 


PakPassion.Net: You were telling me that you have a very good scouting system by which you guys identify talented players in schools and colleges around Rawalpindi. You and your fellow coaches have good relations with schools regarding upcoming talent. Please tell us a bit more about the scouting setup. 

Sabih Azhar: You can say that I have a craze for cricket. If there are some tape ball matches in streets going on or if there is hardball cricket being played on a Friday or Saturday in grounds, I stop and watch the various matches. I spend an hour two watching these games. You can spot a talented player by watching these matches. I've identified a lot of talented players by watching such matches. If you go scout tape ball tournaments then you will be able to find some good hitters and a few quality fast bowlers as kids who play such games are very confident cricketers. We try and spot some good talented players and create a good team. We don't want to do wrong by any player and want the talented players to play for Pindi.


PakPassion.Net: MashAllah, it's a tremendous gift to be able to identify young talent at that. 

Sabih Azhar: I think it's a God gifted talent to be able to identify talent. When we first saw Shoaib Akhtar playing in college, and when he came to the under 19 level, we knew right away that he would be playing for Pakistan soon. Mohammad Aamer was the same way. When he first came to our regional academy, I said that he's a horse for the big race. At that point, Aamer hadn't played in any national championship or under 19. Yasir Arafat is another example. When he was playing school cricket we could tell he was going to play for Pakistan. Umar Amin was also spotted right away while playing school cricket. So over the past few years we have spotted and groomed a lot of talented cricketer from a very young age. Hammad Azam was also spotted at a very young age. So, thanks to Allah we have been able to pick such 8 or 9 talented players from a very young age. 


PakPassion.Net: You told me that Sohail Tanvir was initially a spin bowler. Who convinced him to change his bowling style from spin to fast? 

Sabih Azhar: Sohail Tanvir played a lot of tape ball cricket. You can say that he was a professional tape ball cricketer. When he first came to me he was a spin bowler. One day I was walking by a local park and there was a match going on. I realized that the bowler was Sohail Tanvir but he was bowling fast, not spin. After watching him I saw that he had good pace and was bowling well and he would only improve with a hard ball. I knew that it would take him a long time to make it to the national side as a spinner and it would be better if he became a fast bowler. Convincing him wasn't easy. Even the president of his cricket club came to me and said that turning him into a fast bowler could end his career. But I was able to convince him and MashAllah he made it to the team after his second season. He has a lot of God gifted talent. He also gets some very good natural swing and his deceptive bowling action also confuses the batsman. 


PakPassion.Net: Speaking of Tanvir's bowling action, a lot of people have said that his bowling action is very unusual and could make him prone to injury. Did you ever tell him to change his bowling action or do you let him bowl with it?

Sabih Azhar: You can say that I've actually placed a restriction on him to not change his action. I told him he should never change his action until he has spoken with him. I asked him to keep his bowling action the same even if the national team coaches want him to change it. As far his injury is concerned, I don't think it had anything to do with his bowling action. He has some weakness in his knee and he has played a lot of cricket recently and that could have led to the injury. 


PakPassion.Net: Shoaib Akhtar is another immensely talented bowler. His career has been hit by many controversies that mostly have to do with the lack of discipline. Did he have these disciplinary issues as a young player or did they start at the international level?

Sabih Azhar: Shoaib Akhtar was not a troublemaker when he was with us. You can say that he was a bit naughty but I would never call him in disciplined. World-class players or celebrities are different from others. Their habits differ greatly from other players. You could tell that Shoaib was going to be a world-class player one day but he needed to be handled with great care. He came to us when he was very young. He always had great respect for me and I understood the type of person he was. People have mishandled him. He really isn't the way he has been portrayed by others. He's a very caring person. 


PakPassion.Net: You said that he has been mishandled. Who is it that has mishandled him? The captain, coaches, management, or has he been mishandled by all of them?

Sabih Azhar: I wouldn't say that they have all mishandled him. Every person has a different psyche . You have to understand their psychological makeup to properly handle them. I'm not going to blame anyone for how he's been handled. I think Shoaib also deserves a lot of the blame. But he's a world class and a match winner bowler and has had a lot of ups and downs. 


PakPassion.Net: But if he was a bit more disciplined he would have been one of the top wicket takers by now.

Sabih Azhar: Absolutely. He had tremendous God given talent. His pace and understanding of the game was excellent. His statistics do not match his talent.


PakPassion.Net: Let's talk now about Umar Amin. He was selected for last year's tour of England. He played in tough conditions for batsmen and against good bowlers. How did he first come to you and what changes have you asked him to make to improve his batting? 

Sabih Azhar: Umar Amin was extremely young when he first came to us. I think he was a seventh or eighth class student at that time. I remember that he used to come to the academy with his father. One can say that with Allah?s help, at that time he was able to face our senior bowlers in the nets. He never showed any fear when facing these seasoned bowlers. He was a very confident child and faced the likes of Yasir Arafat without showing any fear. So he had great talent. As time went on he also improved his technique. He went on to play for the under-16, under-19, and the 'A' team before making his debut for the national side. That tour was a tough one due to conditions and he couldn't perform very well in England. But he has a very bright future ahead of him. He is going to play for Pakistan. 


PakPassion.Net: Umar looked very confident during the England tour and it was evident that he had all the shots. But there were a few technical issues. How did you view his technique during the series?

Sabih Azhar: Most left handed batsmen are similar when it comes to technique. Their areas of strengths can also prove to be the area of weakness. Left-handed batsmen like to drive or play the cut shot around the off stump and that can become their downfall as well. As time goes on the batsman is able to adjust to those areas and find a way to stay at the crease. This all comes with experience. Umar is a quick learner and is improving day by day. Some of the more experienced English and Aussie batsmen also struggled in that series. Umar was just staring his career so his struggles were not unexpected. 


PakPassion.Net: Moving on to Yasir Arafat, you have worked with him throughout his career. Yasir hasn't been able to establish himself in any format of the game at the international level. Why do you think he has not been able to make it?


Sabih Azhar: Actually, Yasir is a top performer in Pakistan's domestic circuit. He has always been overshadowed by other players, such as Abdul Razzaq, at the international level. He's been named in the squad on numerous occasions but has never played an entire series or tournament. He wasn't given an opportunity when he was at his peak. I'm not blaming anyone for sidelining him because there were established bowlers and all-rounders in the team. His performance at the international level has been satisfactory but he just hasn't played enough. His talents were not fully utilized and he should have been a permanent member of the team for 3-4 years.

PakPassion.Net: The issue seems to be consistency in terms of how many matches he receives. He tends to get a few matches here and there and then is benched or dropped again. Is that an issue in your opinion?

Sabih Azhar: The Pakistani bowling department was much stronger and settled during that time period. Thus, it made sense that he would be dropped; if he didn?t perform in those select few matches he played. 

PakPassion.Net: We have recently seen the Quaid-e-Azam tournament that took place. The tournament was divided into two divisions and the regional/department teams were mixed. Do you feel this was the proper set-up or should there be a change?

Sabih Azhar: I found this set-up to be acceptable. Yes, there are a few differences between regional teams and departmental teams. However, I feel it provides a great push for teams to work harder and improve on what they have. The regional teams can match up against the departmental teams and give them a fight. This is what cricket is all about. 

The only issue is with players leaving the regional teams and heading over to the departmental teams. However, the performances from teams like Islamabad, Faisalabad, Karachi, Sialkot and Hyderabad provide incentive for players to notice that regional teams can be built to compete. 

The young talent being generated from this tournament indicates that there is something to work with. We have noticed lads like Sadaf Hussain and many other young players who are impressing, all coming out of these regional teams. The system is not bad at all - it seems to be working.

PakPassion.Net: What about the motivation for young cricketers? Just imagine, a young cricketer being chased by both regional teams and departmental teams. The departmental team will always appear to be a tad more enticing as they would provide a job for the youngster as back up. Isn?t there an unfair advantage there?

Sabih Azhar: I don?t see it that way. The PCB does provide a decent amount of funding for the regional teams to remain competitive. Players are getting match fees and daily allowances. If the players start receiving proper cricketing contracts from the regional teams, then the motivation will follow.

For young players, cricket is more important than money. All of them want to impress and make themselves noticeable from a cricketing aspect - money is a consequence of playing good cricket. 

PakPassion.Net: Speaking of money and contracts at the domestic level, there have been rumors about money not being paid. Are these rumors about Pakistan?s domestic cricket correct?

Sabih Azhar: Absolutely false. Yes, there might be a few specific cases where there have been delays in payments. However, I haven?t heard of cases where players are simply not paid. This is most definitely incorrect information from my vantage point. 

PakPassion.Net: Moving onto coaching ? do you feel the domestic standard of coaching is acceptable? What is your viewpoint on the national team coaches such as Waqar Younis and Aaqib Javed?

Sabih Azhar: Coaching as an art and culture has started to develop in the past 4-5 years in Pakistan. Slowly, players are starting to accept the advantage of being coached properly and the necessity of having one in the side. In the past, players didn?t pay much attention to coaches and used to wonder why there are coaches in the first place ! Now they have realized that having a coach with the team is a positive step. Now even regions have good quality Level 2 and 3 coaches in the 12/13 regions - all of them are putting in solid work with the teams.

I feel the current coaches are implementing their systems well. The board is starting to provide an appropriate level of coaching by assigning analysts, assistant coaches, bowling coaches etc. at all levels- whether its under 13, 16, women, under 19. I would like to personally thank and congratulate PCB for this initiative. All of the regions have their own in/off-season training programs and this is crucial for the development of the teams and players as individuals. At this rate, in the coming years, a lot of good coaching talent would have emerged at all levels.

PakPassion.Net: All of the first-class teams have such a set-up, is that correct?

Sabih Azhar: Correct. All of the 13 regional teams have appropriately coaching set-ups. The appointment of the coaching staff, all of whom are PCB employees, is done by region. Each coach is appointed to their own region as it provides a better foundation for teams to grow and remain attached.

PakPassion.Net: The T20 tournament [Faysal bank Tournament] was quite enjoyable. Do you feel T20 cricket is starting to get more importance over other forms of the sport? Many former players feel current players are starting to focus on the shortest form of the sport and are basing their techniques on that form. Is this a serious issue?

Sabih Azhar: Look, ODI cricket is now what 40 years old - people had the same reservations about ODI cricket when it started. People would argue that Test cricket is under threat from this short form of cricket. As you know, Test cricket was not affected at all by this new form of cricket. 

In my view, Test cricket has its own charm, which the shorter versions of the game lack in many ways.

Test cricket is what the sport is all about. Yes, the shortest format of the sport is entertaining and fun to watch. However, I don?t really feel it will take over the sport and destroy test cricket?s image.

PakPassion.Net: What about the batsmen during this era ? do you feel the batsmen are going to ruin their techniques by focusing on T20 cricket? 

Sabih Azhar: As you may have noticed, T20 cricket has evolved in the last 2 years - its no longer a fun game. It's a serious game with tactics and innovations. Players need to adapt to T20 and then adapt to Test cricket as well - as both games require different sets of skills.

If you will note, most big teams of the day have people who play all 3 versions of the game without a problem. All you can say is that T20 has had an effect on ODI and Test cricket - it?s become much faster and high scoring as well as result orientated. In some ways, T20 has actually improved Test cricket and made it more watchable and exciting.


PakPassion.Net: Now, Pakistan has always been placed as a poor fielding unit at the international level. Despite, the change of personnel and various other enhancements in the set-up our fielding continues to be mediocre. Why is that still occurring?

Sabih Azhar: Fielding is directly related to each player?s fitness. The better your physical fitness is, the better you will perform as a fielder. I feel as the next batch of domestic players start coming up the ranks, you will notice a serious improvement. I have noticed a drastic rise in the quality of fielding at our domestic level. The players are starting to take the fielding aspect of the sport quite seriously. If you watch the domestic matches, the players are all diving, sliding and throwing themselves around on the field to gain an advantage. The mentality is slowly improving and you will notice the difference over the upcoming years. In addition, the quality of grounds has also improved allowing for players to slide and dive.

I don?t think we should be labeling the Pakistani fielding unit as a mediocre one. There are about 8-9 lads in that team who are brilliant fielders and get the job done. InshAllah, the next generation will illustrate an even better fielding unit that can field together at the same high level.

PakPassion.Net: Last question, this one is concerning Mohammad Amir. He was considered to be the greatest fast bowler of this generation ? some were calling him the next Wasim Akram. Instead, he is seen going to court in Doha with his spot-fixing controversy. What are your thoughts on him? Does this sadden you?

Sabih Azhar: Absolutely, it?s quite painful. Pakistani cricket need him at this time. InshAllah, he will be cleared from these current problems that he?s embroiled in. Personally, I am quite confident in the lad and don?t feel he has gone down the wrong path. I hope he will play for Pakistan again, very soon.

PakPassion.Net: You saw him grow up as a young lad, how was he back then as a person and player?

Sabih Azhar: Good fast bowlers are born with the talent. As a coach ? you can only teach things like line, length, tactics to get batsmen out and other such things, but not confidence. Handling the sort of pressure one receives at the international level is something not all can handle, but Amir did. He performed at that level. Like Shoaib Akhtar, he is a born fast bowler - As a coach we can discuss aspects of fast bowling, go through videos etc but there is something God given 

I am glad we identified Amir and noticed the talent he had. We got him into the team. Thus, its sad to see him get so caught up in this mess.

PakPassion.Net: Thank you for your invaluable time.