In an exclusive interview with PakPassion.net, former Pakistani opener and Coach Mudassar Nazar tells us that current coach Waqar Younis will be leaving the position with his head held high....

By Saj Sadiq (21 August, 2011)

Former Pakistani opener and Coach Mudassar Nazar feels that current coach Waqar Younis can leave the position with his head held high.

Waqar recently offered his resignation to the Pakistan Cricket Board and his resignation was reluctantly accepted by a Board striving for continuity. Unfortunately though, continuity in Pakistan cricket these days is about as rare as a home test match.

Waqar has cited personal reasons for his resignation and he will vacate the position after the tour of Zimbabwe which commences next week.

Speaking exclusively to PakPassion.net ; Mudassar a veteran of 198 matches for Pakistan stated "Waqar has done remarkably well. If you look at when he came into the side there were serious problems. There were a lot of things going on that were not under his control but he did some good work. If there were any mishaps, he'd ensure everyone bounced back."

Mudassar who was part of some very solid Pakistan sides of yesteryear added "when analysing Waqar's performance as coach, it has to be taken into account that he was working with a group of players who were certainly not the strongest of units in Pakistan's history. Aaqib (Javed) and Waqar formed a good partnership and did some excellent work in taking the team forward."

Nazar feels that the regular changes in captaincy did not help Waqar either, but again he should be commended for taking all the changes in his stride.

"The Pakistan team has had several changes in captain whilst Waqar has been coach, but he put his head down, drove the team forward and got on with the job in hand. The team performances under Waqar were better than what the team strength was, which speaks volumes for Waqar's and the team's efforts. If you look at the team recently, they have lacked bowlers especially having lost a few players due to spot fixing - especially two match winning bowlers. The batting strength was not that good and the fielding wasn't a strong suit either."

Nazar also feels that the differences with former captain Shahid Afridi should have been handled much better by all parties and resolved quickly, rather than them dragging on.

"Waqar's tenure was good, but unfortunately he had some misunderstandings with Shahid Afridi. The misunderstandings were there, but they should have been nipped in the bud a long time ago, rather than them surfacing in the media. Former manager Intikhab Alam should have played a pivotal role in resolving the differences between Waqar and Afridi, or the captain and coach should have sat down and had an open discussion and sorted out any issues and got on with their roles and for the betterment of the Pakistan cricket team which should have been their primary objective."

Nazar though is of the opinion that Waqar would have liked to have continued but his position was becoming untenable due to the imminent return of former captain Shahid Afridi.

"I'm sure Waqar would have liked to have continued in his role, but his position was going to become more and more untenable due to the likely return of Shahid Afridi who I feel is likely to return to the side in October. With that in mind Waqar probably thought that this was the right time to resign and walk away from this. Waqar probably feels that he doesn't need this situation and if Afridi is to come back then one of them would have to go and due to this, he preferred to walk away now. I think he's done the right thing by walking away."

Another reason for Waqar's resignation according to Nazar is that several of Waqar's support staff have been taken away from him by the Board.

"The people that were helping him and supporting him in his role have been taken away from him and he stands alone now. Whatever the reason for those support staff to have been taken away from Waqar, it must have affected his decision. Only Ijaz Butt knows why those support staff were taken away, but I'm sure it must have been a key factor in Waqar's decision to resign."

Waqar was one of Pakistan's greatest ever cricketers and will always have a special place in the hearts of cricket fans around the world. He was one of the finest exponents of reverse swing, but Mudassar feels that even such an experienced and high profile former cricketer will have felt the effects and pressure of interference from the Chairman and the slating in the press.

"When you have the former captain vilifying you and the management in the media at every opportunity it is bound to effect you, irrespective of how experienced you are. In addition you have the Chairman Ijaz Butt taking so many decisions above your head, that it's such a difficult role to carry out."

Non Pakistani coaches of recent times have included Richard Pybus, Geoff Lawson and the late Bob Woolmer, but Nazar thinks that the job should be given to Waqar's understudy Aaqib Javed this time around.

"I'm at ease with either a Pakistani or non Pakistani coach, whoever is best for the job should be given the role. However it's almost impossible to appoint a non Pakistani coach and expect him to spend so much time working in Pakistan. Unfortunately living in Pakistan at the moment is difficult even for Pakistanis so how can we expect a foreigner to come and settle in Pakistan or spend so much time in Pakistan?”

Credit to Geoff Lawson, he spent a lot of time in Pakistan and stayed there for long periods whilst he was coach, so perhaps there maybe someone out there who will do what Lawson did.

I have a lot of faith in Aaqib Javed as he has come through the Pakistani system. He's been working in different roles for nearly the last 10 years. He's a damn good coach and I think they should appoint Aaqib as coach. I'd be happy if he was given the role, providing you give him some support with a batting coach. In addition, despite what Afridi says in the press, he would like to come back to the Pakistan side as captain and Aaqib is on reasonable terms with Afridi, so that may be a reasonable combination."