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However at present Sohail’s apprehension isn’t just designated for the Pakistan Cricket Board. In a candid and hard hitting interview with PakPassion.net ; Sohail presented the same aggression on a wide range of topics, that he demonstrated in 47 tests and 156 one day internationals.
by Saj Sadiq
26 December 2010
"Ex cricketers like Rameez Raja have ruined Pakistan cricket" : Amir Sohail
Former Pakistan Captain and Pakistan Cricket Board’s Director-Game Development Aamer Sohail’s concerns for Pakistan cricket seem to be reaching unparalleled heights. Sohail has been a vociferous critic of the current Pakistan Cricket Board regime since his resignation as the Head of the National Cricket Academy in July 2009.
However at present Sohail’s apprehension isn’t just designated for the Pakistan Cricket Board. In a candid and hard hitting interview with PakPassion.net ; Sohail presented the same aggression on a wide range of topics, that he demonstrated in 47 tests and 156 one day internationals.
On the World Cup Preparations
The confusion and uncertainty of the makeup of the 30 man preliminary squad epitomises and reflects the workings of the Pakistan Cricket Board, in that you are not sure most of the time what the planning is. Whoever comes into power in the PCB usually makes his first announcement around the winning the World Cup and how focussed they are on winning the World Cup, yet so far we haven’t even turned the first corner and we have so many problems to deal with. This is not the first time that the team will go into a World Cup with problems and concerns and an unsettled squad. In 1992 when we of course won the World Cup things were unsettled, there were players flying in and out of the squad in Australia prior to the World Cup. The same thing happened in 1999 where there were problems. Only in 1996 was it a settled side. In 2003 we weren’t sure who should be captain and then eventually the likes of Salman Butt were not selected.
I really do not know what the planning is yet once again and it seems to be a norm that there is uncertainty ahead of a major tournament like the World Cup. The PCB is of course hampered by the exclusion of certain players so until such a time as the 30 man preliminary squad is announced, it’s difficult to predict how well the team will do.
On Kamran Akmal and Shoaib Malik
On talent alone, both of them should be in the World Cup squad. They both have ability and bring variety to the one day team, however there are always question marks over Akmal’s wicket keeping ability. As for Malik, he can contribute a lot to the team. However there has to be clarity on whether these boys are available for selection.
On Mohsin Khan’s Options and a Lack of Strategy
If I was Mohsin Khan I would have already sat down with the Board and clarified what my options are regarding selection for the World Cup. I would have already developed a strategy for the World Cup.
On the Lack of Backup Players
It seems that Pakistan is the only major international team where if you drop a player there is a lot of hue and cry because you are not sure who is going to take his place. You don’t have the backup players and as a result that is why Pakistan will struggle in the World Cup. I guess you could say it’s too much player power.
On the Issue of Players Trying to Continue Playing in All Formats of the Game
Pakistan is the only major cricketing nation where players attempt to confine themselves to Twenty20 and one day cricket. However with other test playing nations it’s the other way around in that when the time comes and the time is right, players confine themselves to test cricket, which is the right way to go about it. When our players get older, instead of wanting to stick to test cricket which is the format they are suited to, they instead try to confine themselves to the shorter versions of the game or try to hang onto a place in all formats of the game. These senior players should be utilising their experience in test cricket, instead of trying to continue to ply their trade in twenty over and fifty over cricket.
On Mohammad Yousuf and Younus Khan
Younus has plenty to offer in one day internationals but Mohammad Yousuf should have confined himself to test match cricket. The reason why Yousuf is out of the side now is that he became too greedy and that he should be featuring in all formats of the game. If a player of Yousuf’s calibre is playing test cricket then he is earning around 350,000 rupees per match and if he’s featuring in a one day international he will earn even more than that per match.
On Part Time WicketKeepers
If a part time wicketkeeper can contribute around 70% of the wicketkeeping ability of a permanent wicketkeeper, then that is acceptable. Dravid did this for the Indian team and it helped with the combination and balance of their team. Again it comes down to the lack of planning and backups. There doesn’t seem to be a Plan B, or Plan C, if the original plan doesn’t work.
On Rameez Raja’s comments about Pakistan Domestic Cricket Having Quantity over Quality
I don’t know how Rameez Raja has the audacity to come on television and state that Pakistan cricket doesn’t have quality, but it has quantity. Ex cricketers like Rameez have ruined Pakistan cricket, because when the likes of Rameez were introducing the current format of domestic cricket, they should have thought about introducing teams like Quetta to the first class structure and why they gave Quetta first class status and why they didn’t give other more deserving regional teams first class status, if they were keen on increasing the number of first class teams. Rameez and others should think about what they have done in the past and what they have contributed, before making such statements on television.
On Selection Methods in Pakistan
The method of selection seems to be one where if you are close to the captain you will be selected, irrespective of performance. Other countries though are giving chances to up and coming players, developing their talent, testing them in international cricket, yet we seem to be relying on the same players.
On Coaches Waqar Younis and Aaqib Javed
One thing I have learnt in my many years as a cricketer was that you never stop learning. It doesn’t matter how many years you have been playing cricket, or how old you are or how many matches you have played in, there is always room for improvement in areas such as technical issues. Once you retire from playing and become a coach or want to contribute to the game in one way or another, you require further education. You need to discuss quite a few things with different people so your thoughts are clear. However if you want to live in the past glories, you are never going to be in a position to contribute or influence anything. You can’t just live off your past experiences, you have to continue learning, you can’t just bank on reading the coaching manual, as the coaching manual isn’t always right in my opinion as it was written more than 100 years ago. Cricket is changing day by day, new innovations, new ideas, you can’t just keep on relying on the olden methods. If Waqar thinks that he can just rely on what he did as a player and without any further education that he can impart to the current side, then he’s wrong. It doesn’t work like that and it doesn’t work very often.
However at present Sohail’s apprehension isn’t just designated for the Pakistan Cricket Board. In a candid and hard hitting interview with PakPassion.net ; Sohail presented the same aggression on a wide range of topics, that he demonstrated in 47 tests and 156 one day internationals.
On the World Cup Preparations
The confusion and uncertainty of the makeup of the 30 man preliminary squad epitomises and reflects the workings of the Pakistan Cricket Board, in that you are not sure most of the time what the planning is. Whoever comes into power in the PCB usually makes his first announcement around the winning the World Cup and how focussed they are on winning the World Cup, yet so far we haven’t even turned the first corner and we have so many problems to deal with. This is not the first time that the team will go into a World Cup with problems and concerns and an unsettled squad. In 1992 when we of course won the World Cup things were unsettled, there were players flying in and out of the squad in Australia prior to the World Cup. The same thing happened in 1999 where there were problems. Only in 1996 was it a settled side. In 2003 we weren’t sure who should be captain and then eventually the likes of Salman Butt were not selected.
I really do not know what the planning is yet once again and it seems to be a norm that there is uncertainty ahead of a major tournament like the World Cup. The PCB is of course hampered by the exclusion of certain players so until such a time as the 30 man preliminary squad is announced, it’s difficult to predict how well the team will do.
On Kamran Akmal and Shoaib Malik
On talent alone, both of them should be in the World Cup squad. They both have ability and bring variety to the one day team, however there are always question marks over Akmal’s wicket keeping ability. As for Malik, he can contribute a lot to the team. However there has to be clarity on whether these boys are available for selection.
On Mohsin Khan’s Options and a Lack of Strategy
If I was Mohsin Khan I would have already sat down with the Board and clarified what my options are regarding selection for the World Cup. I would have already developed a strategy for the World Cup.
On the Lack of Backup Players
It seems that Pakistan is the only major international team where if you drop a player there is a lot of hue and cry because you are not sure who is going to take his place. You don’t have the backup players and as a result that is why Pakistan will struggle in the World Cup. I guess you could say it’s too much player power.
On the Issue of Players Trying to Continue Playing in All Formats of the Game
Pakistan is the only major cricketing nation where players attempt to confine themselves to Twenty20 and one day cricket. However with other test playing nations it’s the other way around in that when the time comes and the time is right, players confine themselves to test cricket, which is the right way to go about it. When our players get older, instead of wanting to stick to test cricket which is the format they are suited to, they instead try to confine themselves to the shorter versions of the game or try to hang onto a place in all formats of the game. These senior players should be utilising their experience in test cricket, instead of trying to continue to ply their trade in twenty over and fifty over cricket.
On Mohammad Yousuf and Younus Khan
Younus has plenty to offer in one day internationals but Mohammad Yousuf should have confined himself to test match cricket. The reason why Yousuf is out of the side now is that he became too greedy and that he should be featuring in all formats of the game. If a player of Yousuf’s calibre is playing test cricket then he is earning around 350,000 rupees per match and if he’s featuring in a one day international he will earn even more than that per match.
On Part Time WicketKeepers
If a part time wicketkeeper can contribute around 70% of the wicketkeeping ability of a permanent wicketkeeper, then that is acceptable. Dravid did this for the Indian team and it helped with the combination and balance of their team. Again it comes down to the lack of planning and backups. There doesn’t seem to be a Plan B, or Plan C, if the original plan doesn’t work.
On Rameez Raja’s comments about Pakistan Domestic Cricket Having Quantity over Quality
I don’t know how Rameez Raja has the audacity to come on television and state that Pakistan cricket doesn’t have quality, but it has quantity. Ex cricketers like Rameez have ruined Pakistan cricket, because when the likes of Rameez were introducing the current format of domestic cricket, they should have thought about introducing teams like Quetta to the first class structure and why they gave Quetta first class status and why they didn’t give other more deserving regional teams first class status, if they were keen on increasing the number of first class teams. Rameez and others should think about what they have done in the past and what they have contributed, before making such statements on television.
On Selection Methods in Pakistan
The method of selection seems to be one where if you are close to the captain you will be selected, irrespective of performance. Other countries though are giving chances to up and coming players, developing their talent, testing them in international cricket, yet we seem to be relying on the same players.
On Coaches Waqar Younis and Aaqib Javed
One thing I have learnt in my many years as a cricketer was that you never stop learning. It doesn’t matter how many years you have been playing cricket, or how old you are or how many matches you have played in, there is always room for improvement in areas such as technical issues. Once you retire from playing and become a coach or want to contribute to the game in one way or another, you require further education. You need to discuss quite a few things with different people so your thoughts are clear. However if you want to live in the past glories, you are never going to be in a position to contribute or influence anything. You can’t just live off your past experiences, you have to continue learning, you can’t just bank on reading the coaching manual, as the coaching manual isn’t always right in my opinion as it was written more than 100 years ago. Cricket is changing day by day, new innovations, new ideas, you can’t just keep on relying on the olden methods. If Waqar thinks that he can just rely on what he did as a player and without any further education that he can impart to the current side, then he’s wrong. It doesn’t work like that and it doesn’t work very often.
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