‘Brave’ Mickey has accepted a ‘turbulent’ job, says Bazid Khan
Former cricketer suggests new head coach to set discipline and fitness standards
PHOTO: REUTERS
Former cricketer Bazid Khan believes newly appointed Pakistan head coach Mickey Arthur is a brave man as he accepted a turbulent job.
“He [Mickey] is a brave man to accept this turbulent job,” said Bazid. “It is not a very desirable job right now to be the head coach of Pakistan cricket team. There will be pressure when he plays any series however small it may be and if anything goes wrong there will be questions asked.”
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When asked if the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) assured quality while selecting the new head coach, Bazid said the board was more interested in a different question.
“The actual discussion was about whether to hire a foreign or a local coach; there wasn’t much debate about how high profile the coach should be,” he said. “Obviously, the board has gone for an overseas coach and that will be the point that will come under a lot of discussion in the coming days.”
The 35-year-old added that the only foreign coach who understood the complications of Pakistan cricket and did something about them was Bob Woolmer.
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“Most people feel that a foreign coach doesn’t bring much to the Pakistani team because of the dynamics, the structure or the lack of structure or the situation of the players coming through the ranks. Only Bob Woolmer to some extent was able to manage that,” he explained.
Bazid, who played one Test and five ODIs in his short international career, said that Mickey will have to dig deep into the domestic structure to unearth the secrets to building a successful Pakistan team.
“The main fact is that he needs to understand the process by which the Pakistan players have come through and how they have been selected,” he said. “Waqar Younis pointed out in his report that one man, one head coach cannot change much because it’s all about the structure. That is what Mickey has to understand. The first six months or a year, it will be the honeymoon period but if the results don’t come after that, the subcontinent people don’t have a lot of patience.”
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Bazid also suggested Mickey to set discipline and fitness standards to change the fortunes of Pakistan’s limited-overs cricket.
“First of all he has to recognise that fitness has to play a major part and then he needs to earmark players who can play long-term for Pakistan,” said Bazid. “He has to set the standard of what the discipline will be like, what the fitness standards should be and how he is going to change the Pakistan cricket team into a more modern structure. We have fallen behind in the limited overs and many people think it is because we didn’t keep up with the modern standards.”
Bazid Khan was interviewed by ESPNcricinfo
“He [Mickey] is a brave man to accept this turbulent job,” said Bazid. “It is not a very desirable job right now to be the head coach of Pakistan cricket team. There will be pressure when he plays any series however small it may be and if anything goes wrong there will be questions asked.”
PCB appoints South African Mickey Arthur as head coach
When asked if the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) assured quality while selecting the new head coach, Bazid said the board was more interested in a different question.
“The actual discussion was about whether to hire a foreign or a local coach; there wasn’t much debate about how high profile the coach should be,” he said. “Obviously, the board has gone for an overseas coach and that will be the point that will come under a lot of discussion in the coming days.”
The 35-year-old added that the only foreign coach who understood the complications of Pakistan cricket and did something about them was Bob Woolmer.
Arthur, Moores new favourites for Pakistan head coach position
“Most people feel that a foreign coach doesn’t bring much to the Pakistani team because of the dynamics, the structure or the lack of structure or the situation of the players coming through the ranks. Only Bob Woolmer to some extent was able to manage that,” he explained.
Bazid, who played one Test and five ODIs in his short international career, said that Mickey will have to dig deep into the domestic structure to unearth the secrets to building a successful Pakistan team.
“The main fact is that he needs to understand the process by which the Pakistan players have come through and how they have been selected,” he said. “Waqar Younis pointed out in his report that one man, one head coach cannot change much because it’s all about the structure. That is what Mickey has to understand. The first six months or a year, it will be the honeymoon period but if the results don’t come after that, the subcontinent people don’t have a lot of patience.”
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Bazid also suggested Mickey to set discipline and fitness standards to change the fortunes of Pakistan’s limited-overs cricket.
“First of all he has to recognise that fitness has to play a major part and then he needs to earmark players who can play long-term for Pakistan,” said Bazid. “He has to set the standard of what the discipline will be like, what the fitness standards should be and how he is going to change the Pakistan cricket team into a more modern structure. We have fallen behind in the limited overs and many people think it is because we didn’t keep up with the modern standards.”
Bazid Khan was interviewed by ESPNcricinfo