In exclusive remarks to PakPassion.net, U19 coach, Sabih Azhar expressed his satisfaction with the hard work being put in by his young charges and spoke about his high hopes for success in the upcoming Asia Cup in Malaysia as well as the Under 19 World Cup in Australia.

By Amir Husain (14th June, 2012)

The Pakistani team for the coveted U19 Asia Cup trophy was announced on June 6th, 2012. The 16 member squad lead by 17 year old Babar Azam features the pick of the upcoming young talent from Pakistan. The players thus selected are widely expected to form the nucleus of the team for the U19 World Cup, due to be held in Australia later this year.

With a healthy track record in high profile tournaments such as the U19 World Cup where they have won 2 trophies in 2004 and 2006 and were runners up to Australia in 2010 , the Pakistani U19 squad is considered by many to be amongst the favourites for the inaugural U19 Asia Cup competition to be held in Malaysia in a few weeks time.

Currently, the U19 squad for Pakistan is in the midst of some strenuous preparations at the National Cricket Academy (NCA) in Lahore under the watchful eyes of their experienced Head Coach, Sabih Azhar. In exclusive remarks to PakPassion.net, Sabih expressed his satisfaction with the hard work being put in by his young charges and spoke about his high hopes for success in the upcoming Asia Cup in Malaysia as well as the Under 19 World Cup in Australia.


On the status of preparations for U19 Asia Cup at the NCA in Lahore

“The training camp is currently underway with fitness, bowling, batting and fielding being worked on. The boys are testing themselves playing practice matches of which we have yet played one of the scheduled five games. The camp is being held at the National Stadium Academy and ends on the 19th June.”

“It’s been a successful camp thus far. The boys have been working very hard on the bowling and batting we have some mature boys who have been selected for the Asia Cup. The way the guys have been playing, I am confident that we will perform well.”

“It has been a very disciplined team effort. We have a trainer, a doctor and our own analyst. NCA has also given us a fielding coach who is helping with the fielding. The Manager, Haroon Rasheed is also helping the boys out. As a combined effort, we are all trying to create a healthy team environment. We are basing our training on the one day game and also to try and play in similar situations to those we will encounter in Malaysia during the Asia Cup.

The Asia Cup is expected to be a tough tournament. The four major nations – India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh have historically had very good U19 team performances. As a team we are vary of the challenge. We are obviously aware that the senior team has just recently returned as Asia Cup champions and we are working hard to ensure that this team also matches that feat with the Junior Asia Cup.”


On the composition and the strengths of the selected team

“It is a very balanced team. Especially in the fast bowling department we are very strong. Batting wise, we have some very mature boys who have played well in both the domestic season as well as performed well in the South African U19 series recently. I am confident that with the talent we have and the commitment of the boys, we will Inshallah (God willing) perform well”

“We have four fast bowlers in our team and I would say all four are frontline bowlers in that you can play any of them and they will perform. The four - Zia Ul Haq, Ehsan Adil, Mir Hamza, Azizullah are very good bowlers with variety. Two are left arm fast bowlers and two are right arm fast bowlers. Among these, Ehsan Adil is not only a good bowler but he is also a handy hitter with the bat.

Zia Ul Haq is a very fast bowler who is bowling at around the 145+ mark. Azizullah is a good swing bowler. Mir Hamza is also a good swing bowler with good pace. In the spin department, we have two right arm leg spinners - Usman Qadir and Akhtar Waheed – as well as a left-arm spinner, Mohammad Nawaz. He is also is a very good number 6 batsman in his own right and has performed very well in South Africa where he took twenty wickets.”


The overall standard of the Pakistani U19 team

“At the U19 level, Pakistan has always performed well at the U19 level, especially in the World Cup competitions. It has been a very successful and a frequent source of supply of exciting talent for our national team. Even in this team, we have 5-6 Players who can play for the national side in a couple of years”


The importance of the recently launched PCB Talent Hunt program for young players

“This is a new and exciting program being implemented by the PCB to uncover talented youngsters who are between ages of 17-25. This idea of using the experience of past legends of the game to help spot talent at various centres where these boys can trial out is extremely good.”

“It is great that great players such as Sarfraz Nawaz, Abdul Qadir and Ijaz Ahmed are involved. There is no doubt in my mind that talent will come through this wonderful program and we will find a player who may have missed out otherwise. Inshallah it will be a success.”


On Pakistan’s chances at the U19 World Cup in Australia

“The ICC U19 World Cup this year is being held in Australia. Pakistan have won this title twice in the past and we did make it to the final of the previous World Cup which was held in New Zealand where we lost to Australia. I am, therefore, confident that we can do well again.

Obviously the conditions in Australia are tough especially for our young batsmen or those from other parts of the world. To prepare for these conditions, we are training hard on bouncy tracks with the facilities that we have. I sincerely believe that we have the talent and I am confident that we will perform well.”

“As for the competition, Australia is obviously always tough to beat. India is always a very strong U19 team. England, Bangladesh and other teams have all performed very well recently. God willing, we will perform to the best of our abilities and also provide tough competition for the rest of the teams.”

Pakistan, placed in Group A, start their U19 Asia Cup campaign in Kuala Lumpur on June 23rd against Malaysia. The 50 overs a side tournament reaches its end with the final on 1st July 2012