PCB must invest in foreign coaches, says Waqar

Head coach suggests overhaul of NCA to better groom young talent

DUBAI:

While England’s tour of Pakistan has not been going according to the home side’s plans — losing both the ODI and T20I series — Pakistan head coach Waqar Younis has termed the series as an ‘eye-opener’ for both the team management and the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB).

In an exclusive interview with The Express Tribune at Dubai’s plush Conrad Hotel, Waqar dissected the team’s failures at length, saying in order to curtail the prevalent gap between international and domestic players, the PCB needed to invest more in the sport.



“I am startled at the standard of cricket at display and the thing that has bothered me the most is that these are our best performers, but unfortunately they were found out,” he said.  “We cannot train the players on basics in between a high-pressure series. For instance, this tour was a ‘run-out tour’ and the management cannot possibly expect us to teach them how to run between the wickets.”

The 44-year-old feels that the National Cricket Academy (NCA) in Lahore needs to be overhauled and handed over to foreigners who can implement their programmes without any hassles.

“I’ll reiterate, the PCB needs to invest in the product and the NCA is the base camp. We need foreign coaches there, even if they charge a hefty amount,” he added. “The top domestic performers must be groomed according to international standards. If we don’t take the necessary steps, then believe me when I say this: we will plummet even further.”



‘Younus’ ODI retirement shocked us all’

At the start of the ODI series, veteran batsman Younus Khan was drafted in the ODI squad after a contentious absence since the World Cup and many would have expected the 38-year-old to have carried his Test form in the limited overs.

However, the Mardan-born announced his retirement —just hours before the first ODI was scheduled to take place — baffling Waqar and Co.

“I sat down with Younus and asked him to pick a number from one to 11 in the batting order of his own preference and he said he wanted to bat at four. I told him that’s fine and that he will play all four matches,” revealed Waqar. “Next thing we know he announced his retirement, so I’m not sure what his reasons for doing so are.”



‘Contemplating contract extension and England tour’

Waqar also stressed on the importance of the tour of England next year and emphasised the need to study the English game to be better suited to face their opponents; however, he remained coy on whether he would be at the helm or not.

“I am not sure if I’ll be around for the tour [of England] or not, but the fact is that we need rigorous preparations for the Test series,” said Waqar. “We need to prepare practice wickets that offer seam and bounce; perhaps we need to use English balls to fine tune. England are very good at home and would be gunning to avenge the Test defeat here.”

Published in The Express Tribune, November 30^th,  2015.

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