Throughout his international career which spanned 22 Tests and 163 ODIs (1989-1998), Aaqib Javed played a key support role to his most illustrious colleagues such as Imran Khan, Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis where he picked a total of 236 wickets, with his crowning moment undoubtedly coming in the victorious 1992 World Cup campaign in Australia and New Zealand.

Currently employed as the Head Coach of the UAE national team, the forty-two year old Aaqib spoke exclusively to PakPassion.net on a variety of topics including the choice of fast bowlers for the Pakistan squad for the 2015 World Cup, his concerns about the leadership structure of the Pakistan team, the effectiveness of Mohammad Irfan and Pakistan's spin options on pitches in Australia and New Zealand.

By Amir Husain (3rd January, 2015)

PakPassion.net : Which bowlers in your view are a must for the Pakistan 2015 World Cup Squad?

Aaqib Javed : That’s a tough question. The fact is that there isn’t much time left to experiment. On top of that, most of your front-line bowlers are injured which is an alarming situation. I am at a loss to understand the rate at which these bowlers are being injured and the reasons for these injuries. There is obviously some problem there and no team can really afford such injuries to their line-ups.

Coming back to the topic of bowling lineup for the World Cup, if you had the luxury of a fully fit Mohammad Irfan, Junaid Khan and Umar Gul you would be able to compose one of the best bowling attacks in the world. Yes, they are missing Saeed Ajmal but given the talent at Pakistan’s disposal, this would still have made for a formidable attack. Then they have more talent in the shape of two fast bowling all-rounders in the shape of Anwar Ali and Bilawal Bhatti. In that sense, if you have all these options then you have a pretty decent line-up to take with you.


PakPassion.net : Why does Pakistan have so many fitness issues with their fast bowlers these days?

Aaqib Javed :To be honest, I am not clear about what is causing them to be unfit. Is it the case that no one is calculating the workload of these bowlers or maybe it’s their practice routines which are a problem? You have to realize that fast bowlers are unique in that they need to be looked after well and I am not sure if this is being done correctly.

You also have to remember that this is a new era of cricket. Due to the international touring schedules and number of tournaments, there is really no off season concept now. If you look back at what it was in the ‘90s, you had 5-6 months of the cricket season and then a substantial break which you could use to rebuild and recuperate.

As a fast bowler, it is really important to gauge your workload. It’s not about how many overs you bowl but more about why you bowl those overs. It’s about meaningful practice; quality rather than quantity. Fast bowling is like running a machine. You need overhauling after a certain number of hours of operation. For example, if you are bowling six overs in this practice session, then you need to bowl less overs in the next session; so four overs with two using a new ball and the rest with an older ball. It’s all about purposeful activity. If you bowl too many overs in consecutive days then it’s bound to lead to injuries.


PakPassion.net : Given the concerns with injuries, how will selectors take a decision for their squad for the World Cup?

Aaqib Javed : That is a real concern. Unless we know the reason why these bowlers are getting injured so often, any selection is potentially risky. If you look at it that way, then you can’t pick Junaid as he could easily breakdown again. Umar Gul has his own problems. He came back to international cricket after a period of absence but then broke down again during the series against New Zealand. How can the selectors risk taking Umar Gul to the World Cup?

What needs to be done now is to determine the list of fittest bowlers in the country and above all, see how they can all combine to make an effective attack. Deciding on the composition of the attack is crucial for the selectors. What Pakistan needs are two good opening bowlers and specialist bowlers who can bowl in the powerplay and the death overs. This may sound simple but it’s not easy to find that perfect combination. In my time with the Pakistan team, we had Wasim Akram and I opening the bowling in ODIs, then Waqar would come in with his reverse swing and would be able to attack and also take wickets. We then had Mushtaq Ahmed, Saqlain or Aamir Sohail in the middle overs.

There is some serious thought process needed to plan out who will bowl the first ten overs of the powerplay and then who will bowl in the middle overs and who can take pressure when the charge is on as well and who will bowl during the five over powerplay. So once you have an attack pattern in place, then you find the bowlers that will fit each of those slots.


PakPassion.net : Where do Pakistan stand in terms of preparation for the upcoming World Cup?

Aaqib Javed : Frankly speaking, there isn’t much time left to the start of the tournament. From what I see, New Zealand have done their preparations well and I don’t think they need to make too many changes in their ODI line-up for the World Cup. Same can be said about Australia as well. Indians are already in Australia so they have a good idea of the conditions to expect. The South Africans always look good but I guess it’s up to them to fight their old problem of choking at crucial times during major tournaments. England still seem unsure of their final eleven but as far as Pakistan are concerned, they are far behind in terms of preparations for this mega event.


PakPassion.net : Why is it that Pakistan find themselves in this position with not much time left to start of the 2015 World Cup?

Aaqib Javed : The recently concluded five match ODI series against New Zealand should have been the point at which they would have finalized their final set of players for the World Cup. There is definitely some confusion amongst the Pakistan planners. If I look at the captain, Misbah-ul-Haq, I get the feeling that he appears unsure in his decision making. When I say unsure, I imply that he is not sure whether the decisions for the playing eleven are his alone or should he look towards the Head Coach or Chief Selector.

This is the benefit of having one leader who can make the tough decisions for the team and take it forward to success. If you have three or four leaders then they will go nowhere with the decision making. To me, this is the problem with Pakistan – there is no one person who is standing up and taking responsibility for leading the team much in the same way as one pilot who will fly a plane and take it in the right direction.

It appears that the Head Coach is hoping that the Captain or Chief of Selectors will take those tough decisions to pick players, whilst the captain is banking on the Head Coach and the Chief of Selectors to make those calls. The end result is that they are all going nowhere. What Pakistan needs is that one authority or pilot, and to me that person should be the captain.


PakPassion.net : How can Misbah-ul-Haq as captain solve this problem?

Aaqib Javed : Very simply speaking, give him all the powers to select the team. Tell Misbah that you are the person who needs to give us the vision and the plan for winning the World Cup. Ask Misbah to provide the batting composition as well as the bowling composition.

In my view Misbah is not very brave when it comes to taking decisions. He seems to wait for others to make the tough decisions or watches for their suggestions. This should be turned around and he should be told that it is he, who should make the decisions and he will be supported by the Head Coach and the Chief of Selectors. The problem now is that there is a general fear of taking responsibility in the case the decisions backfires. The idea being that if things don't go according to plan then they can simply turn around and say, well that wasn’t my fault! This is no way to manage the team.

We had this advantage in our successful 1992 World Cup campaign as we had Imran as our leader. He stood up and said that look I am the leader, I know my responsibilities and this is how I feel we can win this World Cup and he did it.

If we look at the Pakistan setup now, the Captain, Head Coach and the Chief of Selectors all need to step back and redefine their roles in decision making. In my view the Head Coach is limited in his role as it’s the captain who will execute all plans in the field. The need is for a leader who is brave, hardworking and above all dead-honest in his dealings.


PakPassion.net : You have a very good understanding of Mohammad Irfan’s capabilities. How do you see him performing on Australia/New Zealand pitches?

Aaqib Javed : I don’t think Irfan will have a problem in New Zealand. That is because there isn’t much bounce in the local pitches there and his length is slightly short and less full, so he should be successful out there.

Where he could have a problem is in Australia if he doesn’t change the short length he usually bowls and he will have to instead make it slightly fuller. Additionally, in Australia the ball doesn’t swing that much but you do get seam movement which Irfan should be able to utilize to his benefit.

In my view, there is no doubt that any batsman isn't really comfortable against Irfan but you need to have another support bowler around him who can allow Irfan the liberty to attack without worrying too much about runs. This is where the composition of the team is important. During my time, Wasim had the comfort that I would be containing runs so that allowed him to attack with freedom. Not only that, when the next bowler came in to bowl after the first ten overs (Waqar in our case), he had a great platform to continue the work in his spell, with the opening spell giving him the freedom to attack even if he gave away some runs. Obviously that worked if runs were kept to a minimum in the opening overs – Waqar wouldn’t have been able to attack if we had given away 70 runs in the first ten overs! This is what I mean by the right combination and this is what Pakistan will need to do so that people like Irfan can go about their work and take wickets.


PakPassion.net : How effective will spinners be in Australia and New Zealand in this World Cup? Do Pakistan have the necessary resources for this option to be utilized properly?

Aaqib Javed : If we are talking about wrist spinners then definitely the likes of Shahid Afridi will be effective and Yasir Shah will also be a good option on bouncy pitches in Australia. Yasir could play the role for Pakistan that Mushtaq Ahmed did in 1992. The reason is that when you are bowling leg spin, you are turning the ball away from right handed batsmen and if there is no bounce then the ball won’t carry to the slips or the batsmen will have enough time to play on the back foot.

In New Zealand, however, you need a bowler like Zulfiqar Babar. The reason being that if you are playing on flat pitches with shorter boundaries, then you need a bowler who can do something in the air and get some good drift as well. I suppose the choice of specialist spinners to take to the World Cup really will boil down to whether we expect to play more matches in Australia or New Zealand.


PakPassion.net : Wahab Riaz bowls quick but is also criticized for his wayward bowling. Does he have a good chance for being included in the World Cup squad?

Aaqib Javed : In my view, Wahab is only good where the ball is reversing. If you consider the fact that there will be two new balls used in the World Cup matches in Australia and New Zealand, then you will quickly come to a conclusion that by and large, Wahab will not be effective there.

Specifically speaking, if you are playing in Sydney then you may have chance of reversing the ball and Adelaide may also offer some assistance there. But there is no real chance of reverse swing in Perth, Melbourne or Brisbane and definitely not in venues in New Zealand.

What you need on such pitches are seam bowlers who can bowl with a good wrist position and whilst Wahab is excellent in Asian conditions or even in the West Indies, I am afraid that I don’t see a role for him in the World Cup squad. Granted he can bowl with good speed but his wrist position is not satisfactory which is a real problem, as you need bowlers who can consistently hit the seam on those pitches which are more suited for seam rather than swing bowlers.

Discuss!