Ex Pakistan fast bowler and selector, Saleem Jaffer discusses the selection process and the role of a foreign coach in his remarks to PakPassion

By Usama Ahmed (31st December, 2011)

There aren't too many individuals within the cricketing world that can say they've dabbled in a bit of everything. Saleem Jaffer is one of those individuals, a man who has played the game, been a selector and even done some coaching.

A lanky fast bowler during his playing days, Saleem Jaffer comes with a vast knowledge of the sport and all the intricacies that come along with it. Despite, perhaps 'under achieving' in the eye of some; Saleem Jaffer has given a lot back to Pakistani cricket.

Speaking to Pakpassion.net, Saleem Jaffer touched upon the challenges of being a Pakistani selector, his opinion on coaches and how young cricketers tend to be overcoached.

Saleem Jaffer spoke in a positive manner when it came to the challenges of selecting the Pakistani national team. Painting a picture contrary to what the critics tend to suggest even citing an example of how the process worked.

"There were no political interferences and cricket selection is a very 'black-and-white' process, especially in today's day and age where the media plays such a big part. In any given press conference, there are probably 100+ media related persons and handling those questions is not an easy job. With such accountability, you need to follow this 'black-and-white' process where selection is solely based on the player's performance. There are certain scenarios where this is not easily applicable. "

A real life example was presented by Saleem Jaffer, when talking about the mindset that a selector has when choosing players.

"For example, if you have Inzamam ul Haq in your team playing a certain position in the batting order and you have someone who has scored more runs playing at that position, you can't automatically select him until the position is vacant. Therefore, there are times when players perform extremely well at the domestic level, but are not selected for the Pakistan team because there is no vacancy for that particular spot. When you have players like Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis in your team, you can't simply drop them to give someone else a chance. "

Saleem Jaffer, based on his vast experience was disappointed with the trend of over coaching that takes place in a cricketer's life. This fits in well with the recent ideas suggested by Zaka Ashraf in terms of specialist coaches.

"Too many cooks will spoil the broth; this is what the problem has become now. So on one child, meaning in his 10 or 15 year career if 7 or 8 coaches are present, then that child becomes confused. So this is a bit of a problem for players nowadays and it is necessary to think about this issue. If only one coach is present in professional cricket, player should follow him and listen to him, and this is very important because otherwise, the players nowadays will get confused."

When quizzed about his opinion of foreign coaches and local coaches; Saleem Jaffer was candid with his replies. It is to be remembered that Saleem Jaffer was a selector within Pakistani cricket when Geoff Lawson was coaching the team. He delved deep into the various details that differentiate foreign coaches from local coaches.

"It really depends. In my view, foreign coaches tend to be better organized. They have plans laid out for every single practice session. Before any match, they have done their research and leverage technology as part of their analysis. With local Pakistani coaches, they will provide the same, if not better advice than the foreign coach. The problem is that Pakistani coaches are not very organized."

"With foreign coaches, the practice sessions are organized and their research is a lot better and much more thorough. That is where the main difference lies in. I have also noticed that our players are much more likely to listen to a foreign coach. This is not to say that we don't have good coaches in Pakistan. We've had our share of match-winners like Javed Miandad. I've seen him when he was coaching Pakistan and he would give excellent batting tips. I feel that we need to focus on putting our legendary players in the coaching academies so they can help to groom players from the onset."

Saleem Jaffer also discussed the inevitable language barrier that comes up when a foreign coach is involved. A point of contention that is always brought up by critics of foreign coaches.

"Also, foreign coaches have better man-management skills and they know how to deal with players. However, when a player has a problem and if the coach is a foreigner, the language barrier will definitely prevent the player from discussing the issue. It's like going to a doctor - if you go to him and can't properly describe your situation, he won't be able to diagnose you. Likewise, if you are unable to express your feelings to the coach, there is no way he is going to be able to properly deal with it."