Speaking exclusively to PakPassion.net former Pakistan wicketkeeper Rashid Latif said that skipper Younis Khan has for a while been asking him to join the coaching setup for the national team.

"Younis has been asking me for the past year to join the coaching setup for the national team. However I am just so busy with my work at my academies and now the National Cricket Academy in Karachi. As well as that, add family commitments and it would be so difficult to find the time to take on such a coaching role. If I did the job I would want to do justice to the role".

Latif who represented Pakistan in 37 tests and 166 ODIs continued "It would be fantastic to work with Intikhab Alam, a coach who has won 2 World Cups, in fact I would be honoured, but at this moment in time I am undecided about the role and also nobody at the PCB has actually sat down and talked about the role yet with me. Maybe once I have spoken with the PCB, things will be a bit clearer".

Rashid when asked about how Mohammad Asif was progressing at the training camp that he is currently in charge of in Karachi, stated "We have adminstered a gradual plan for Asif, at first I asked him to only bowl a five over spell, then next day I increased it to 9 overs and so on. Asif is working very hard and I firmly believe that he has learnt his lessons and after this camp I intend to give Pakistan back the Mohammad Asif that was such a fine bowler, before his problems. He hasnt played international cricket for a while now and its not easy coming back after such a long absence. The other thing the selectors need to look at is that the Champions Trophy matches will be played in high altitude, do they want Asif to make his comeback in such conditions. We will provide the PCB with a comprehensive report on Asif once the camp is finalised on 29th August and then its down to the selectors to decide whether they want to take him to South Africa. Its great to have someone like Asif at the training camp as he helps working with the young up and coming players and they all look up to him and learn from him at the camp.

Regarding new batting sensation Umar Akmal, Rashid who was widely regarded in his heyday as one of the most technically gifted and natural wicketkeepers stated "Umar is someone who has not come through the academy system, but thats not to say that he wont need to work at the academies in future. He's new to international cricket and teams will already be analysing his strengths and weaknesses. He's a fantastic talent and if he continues to work hard on his game he will do very well. The most important thing is that he doesnt relax and take his place for granted, cricket is such a game that you are never perfect.

When asked about how his own academies were progressing, Rashid stated "I learnt a lot from Jalaluddin when I set up my academies, as he had already introduced the concept of the academy to Pakistan. The hard work at the academies continues and we continue to look to find talent for Pakistan and players who can play at first class level, as well as play at international level. Guys like Basit Ali and Riaz Sheikh are doing a fantastic job and they are more than capable of running things at the Academies in my absence. My philosophy is to not to look to overcoach players at the academies, if a player has natural talent, then I dont look to take that out of the player by taking that talent away and to change that players natural game. Of course the academies are not just for up and coming players, its always good to see seasoned players coming to the academy to work on areas of their game that they are struggling in or feel they need to work on".

Rashid continued "We look to make players mentally tougher and we focus on their mental approach to cricket which I believe is absolutely vital in the development of a young player".

When asked about the Pakistan team's performance recently in Sri Lanka, Rashid had some stern words for the team "The Passion just wasnt there, the team seemed overconfident. Each game that you play in should be approached as if it is your last and I didnt feel that mindset was there with the players. It doesnt matter whether you are a seasoned player or a youngster, the ethic of hard work has to be maintained and that ethic wasnt always visible from the Pakistan team in Sri Lanka".