Former Pakistan captain speaking to PakPassion.net discusses the amount of talent available in the country, what Pakistan needs to do in order to be succesful in England, the changes required in the Pakistan team, and more.

Unless and until the Pakistani openers make the required adjustments, they will struggle in the Test matches. The major fault with the openers' technique is that they over-commit themselves to the front foot. Once they do that, it's very hard to play off the back foot. If you see Joe Root, he was playing 95% of the deliveries off the back-foot. Alastair Cook was similar, not committing himself too early. He tries to pick up the line, then move into the line. Until the Pakistani openers do this, they will struggle.

Pakistan has plenty of coaches in the side. If they brought a youngster (Sami Aslam) here, they should have had a look at his technique and if there were adjustments required, they should've been made. If need be, and he is thrown into the side, he should be ready for the opportunity.

When we talk of the past, we had a very strong FC system, a strong club and university cricket system. It's no longer there. So if you see a talent, you have to nurture it, and we don't have the human resource for that. Gone are the days when you could throw a youngster in and see great things happen. If you see a talent, you have to groom him and you have to teach them how to improve since there's nominal club cricket in Pakistan.

Talent is there in Pakistan but the opportunities aren't there. If they aren't given opportunities, you don't see the talent. In the past, there was a huge pool of players but it's no longer there. In the past, so many cricketers' kids played first-class cricket and represented Pakistan. But now even ex-sportsmen don't even encourage their kids to play sports as it's not a career option in Pakistan. There are many things that need to be addressed to get that pool of talent back.

I think Mohammad Amir should be OK with the expectations. If he does the basics right, he should get success. If he tries to swing and seam the ball, he'll pick up wickets. He was unlucky to have two dropped catches already. He's got the talent. Life gives you a second chance, so if he's given one, you have to wish him well.

If there was different variety of three left-armers, that's ok but if they're bowling similarly, you need a different angle. Once they adjust to one left-armer, the others become easy since it's the same angle. I think ideally they should have played Imran Khan.

The most important thing for Mickey Arthur is that he has a look at every player and sees where they are lacking in technique and improve that. He must assign roles according to the abilities of the player. You have to wish him luck. He's been given a job and you dearly want him to do well for Pakistan, otherwise it's a waste of time and (Pakistani tax payers') money.

Discuss!