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Asif Mujtaba,represented Pakistan in 25 tests and 66 ODIs over the course of a decade. Currently coaching in Dallas, Texas, Asif spoke to PakPassion.net about his thoughts on the current state of Pakistan cricket.
by Uzair Minhas
14th June, 2011
Asif Mujtaba, perhaps most famous for sealing a miraculous tie by smashing Steve Waugh for 16 runs in an ODI in 1992, made his debut in 1986 and represented Pakistan in 25 tests and 66 ODIs over the course of a decade. Currently coaching in Dallas, Texas, Asif spoke to PakPassion.net about his thoughts on the current state of Pakistan cricket and shared his own experiences whilst representing his country.
When playing international cricket at the highest level, Asif Mujtaba was lucky enough to share the dressing room with great players such as Wasim Akram, Javed Miandad and Inzamam-Ul-Haq. He looked back fondly on the memories, saying “All the knowledge, the ups and downs in cricket, and everything else that I have learned from them, I don’t have words to thank them enough,” but was also quick to point out “captains such as Imran Khan, Javed Miandad, Wasim Akram, Salim Malik, and Inzamam have always led from the front. Their performances have always been top-class and that’s why players who played with them saw them as role models. Today's captains struggle to cement their own place in the team, so how can you expect the more junior players to view him as a role model?”
Indeed, this point is perfectly illustrated by the number of candidates the PCB has gone through since the retirement of Inzamam Ul Haq. With six different captains in test cricket alongside four in ODIs during this period, it comes as little surprise that the national team has gone through an elongated patch of instability in recent times.
It has certainly not been a shocking revelation for Asif, who sees the problem through a broader context – “The Pakistani cricket team is a reflection of the overall Pakistani society and mindset. People playing for Pakistan are not some special people that have landed from the sky. Shoaib Malik was made captain when he was performing very well as a player. Then he was removed due to various reasons and Younis Khan was made captain. Then he was replaced by Mohammad Yousuf. He suffered the same fate and now the same has happened to Afridi. This is normal for Pakistan. How can you change five captains in one year? We have more captains in one year than there are seasons!”
Asif also lamented the cricketing culture which has been constant throughout the years with captains showing levels of bias which have threatened to sour relationships between teammates - “Their [the captain’s] own personal likes or dislikes are always involved – if someone they like comes in, then that player will always be supported and provided with guidance. If a player comes in that they didn’t want to be selected, once the junior arrives, then he is the equivalent of a cricketing orphan.”
With the recent sacking and subsequent retirement of Afridi as a captain and cricketer respectively, Pakistan faces another long-term leadership hurdle. “The Afridi example proves my point. How can you expect great performances from someone when they constantly have a sword hanging above their heads? How can someone lead the team when they have to worry about constantly saving their job? It’s very difficult for the captain to perform well and lead the team when his own position is constantly in danger.”
Looking towards the future, Asif had an optimistic outlook for the pace bowling unit - “Wahab Riaz is there, and there are other bowlers, Junaid Khan, and it’s not important they are quick bowlers - we need players who can take wickets. It’s their job to take wickets. Fast bowlers of course are a sensation for the team if you have them it’s all well and good, but we need bowlers who know how to take wickets. Fast bowling isn’t an achievement; the real achievement is to take wickets.”
When asked if these younger players would learn more through a foreign coach, Asif believes “It’s not about the coach – it’s about the mindset. Whether we hire a foreign coach or a local coach, it makes little difference because coaching has nothing to do with nationality, but the mindset.”
He added that “It is said that great players do not necessarily make good coaches – there is no doubt that this is true. But that coach knows about the match pressure very well – certainly much better than a coach who is not a cricketer. A great player may not be a good coach and a player who has played little or no international cricket may turn out to be a good coach. Handling match pressure is the main thing – the coach should be able to teach the player how to do that. So there should be a combination of both the things. The captain should not point fingers at the coach and the same thing goes for the coach. That is the wrong way of getting things done. They should sort out all misunderstandings between them."
He also feels that some of Pakistan’s own resources are going to waste. While Javed Miandad, has been a batting coach in the past, he hasn’t spent as much time with the new faces filling Pakistan’s batting slots, aside from brief spells as an advisor - “Hanif Mohammad and Javed Miandad are two legends of the game from whom we as players and the Pakistani Cricket Board could have learned so much from but we wasted those opportunities.”
When playing international cricket at the highest level, Asif Mujtaba was lucky enough to share the dressing room with great players such as Wasim Akram, Javed Miandad and Inzamam-Ul-Haq. He looked back fondly on the memories, saying “All the knowledge, the ups and downs in cricket, and everything else that I have learned from them, I don’t have words to thank them enough,” but was also quick to point out “captains such as Imran Khan, Javed Miandad, Wasim Akram, Salim Malik, and Inzamam have always led from the front. Their performances have always been top-class and that’s why players who played with them saw them as role models. Today's captains struggle to cement their own place in the team, so how can you expect the more junior players to view him as a role model?”
Indeed, this point is perfectly illustrated by the number of candidates the PCB has gone through since the retirement of Inzamam Ul Haq. With six different captains in test cricket alongside four in ODIs during this period, it comes as little surprise that the national team has gone through an elongated patch of instability in recent times.
It has certainly not been a shocking revelation for Asif, who sees the problem through a broader context – “The Pakistani cricket team is a reflection of the overall Pakistani society and mindset. People playing for Pakistan are not some special people that have landed from the sky. Shoaib Malik was made captain when he was performing very well as a player. Then he was removed due to various reasons and Younis Khan was made captain. Then he was replaced by Mohammad Yousuf. He suffered the same fate and now the same has happened to Afridi. This is normal for Pakistan. How can you change five captains in one year? We have more captains in one year than there are seasons!”
Asif also lamented the cricketing culture which has been constant throughout the years with captains showing levels of bias which have threatened to sour relationships between teammates - “Their [the captain’s] own personal likes or dislikes are always involved – if someone they like comes in, then that player will always be supported and provided with guidance. If a player comes in that they didn’t want to be selected, once the junior arrives, then he is the equivalent of a cricketing orphan.”
With the recent sacking and subsequent retirement of Afridi as a captain and cricketer respectively, Pakistan faces another long-term leadership hurdle. “The Afridi example proves my point. How can you expect great performances from someone when they constantly have a sword hanging above their heads? How can someone lead the team when they have to worry about constantly saving their job? It’s very difficult for the captain to perform well and lead the team when his own position is constantly in danger.”
Looking towards the future, Asif had an optimistic outlook for the pace bowling unit - “Wahab Riaz is there, and there are other bowlers, Junaid Khan, and it’s not important they are quick bowlers - we need players who can take wickets. It’s their job to take wickets. Fast bowlers of course are a sensation for the team if you have them it’s all well and good, but we need bowlers who know how to take wickets. Fast bowling isn’t an achievement; the real achievement is to take wickets.”
When asked if these younger players would learn more through a foreign coach, Asif believes “It’s not about the coach – it’s about the mindset. Whether we hire a foreign coach or a local coach, it makes little difference because coaching has nothing to do with nationality, but the mindset.”
He added that “It is said that great players do not necessarily make good coaches – there is no doubt that this is true. But that coach knows about the match pressure very well – certainly much better than a coach who is not a cricketer. A great player may not be a good coach and a player who has played little or no international cricket may turn out to be a good coach. Handling match pressure is the main thing – the coach should be able to teach the player how to do that. So there should be a combination of both the things. The captain should not point fingers at the coach and the same thing goes for the coach. That is the wrong way of getting things done. They should sort out all misunderstandings between them."
He also feels that some of Pakistan’s own resources are going to waste. While Javed Miandad, has been a batting coach in the past, he hasn’t spent as much time with the new faces filling Pakistan’s batting slots, aside from brief spells as an advisor - “Hanif Mohammad and Javed Miandad are two legends of the game from whom we as players and the Pakistani Cricket Board could have learned so much from but we wasted those opportunities.”