Fear holding players back, says KPK coach

Rehman believes batsmen cannot be married to proper technique anymore

ISLAMABAD: Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (KPK) coach Abdul Rehman, who has guided his KPK and Peshawar sides to almost unprecedented success in Pakistan’s limited-overs competitions, feels players and coaches need to focus less on traditional technique and let go of their fears if Pakistan are to catch up with other international heavyweights.

Rehman believes players are so scared of losing their wicket that they play with a low bat-lift and concentrate too much on technique.

“What this means is that they are unable to go for the big hits because there just can’t be any momentum in their shots,” said the 47-year-old. “This is also why our batsmen struggle against quick, short deliveries.”

The coach added that the players can also be a bit too selfish sometimes. “So many of these players just play for themselves and get satisfied too easily,” he said. “In our match [against Punjab] we made 313 but I was very unhappy with the players. We could so easily have scored 350 or even 380 but they didn’t bat the way they should have because they were fine with 313.”

And Rehman believes Pakistan will keep on struggling at the international level if the players keep doing this.

Rehman has managed to mastermind wins for his sides despite their rivals boasting more established and experienced players. “There is just a fine line between winning and losing in cricket,” he said. “My aim is to develop players and keep things as simple as possible. And by doing so I hope to allow my players to play cricket which is a requirement of the modern game.”

The problem, however, has been that many of the players who performed under Rehman failed to replicate that form in Pakistan colours. And Rehman refuses to blame the players for this.

“The problem is that the players are told to play a certain way in their domestic teams by their local coaches and are then told to play in a different manner with the international team,” he said.

“That is a problem not only with the international team but the local ones as well. My players that I transfer to other teams need to be coached again by me because they had started playing in a different manner. I am sure the other coaches face the problem when their players return to them after playing under me.”

This, he feels, usually leads to players getting confused and playing with cluttered minds, being neither here nor there. “Something must be done about this. You can’t have different parts of an engine working in opposing directions. We must move forward as a cricketing nation rather than just the international team trying to do so, since almost all of us are stuck in the 90s. We need power-hitters in today’s game but coaches want their players to preserve their wickets.”

That is the reason Rehman is disheartened by the talent on display in the ongoing Pakistan Cup. “Not that these players are not talented, they all are, but I didn’t see anyone who seemed like he could take international cricket by storm,” he said. “But the players are not the only ones who need to change their ways.”

Pakistan were the only team to reach the semi-finals in all of the first four World T20 editions, and Rehman feels the side has lost considerable ground by standing still. “When the T20 format started, we were the best performing side for a very long time. But while the other teams experimented and started playing unconventional cricket and inventing new shots, we didn’t do anything. Back then we were the only ones who had power-hitters like Abdul Razzaq and Shahid Afridi, while now we are the only ones who don’t have these type of players.”

This poor level of cricket is also why domestic tournaments like the Pakistan Cup have generally failed to attract crowds. “People come to watch matches in England, Australia, India, etc. because the cricket on show is of the highest quality,” he said. “People want to see big hits – fours and sixes – and good cricket. That is why I am happy the matches this time around have been high-scoring affairs with both sides scoring more than 300. This will draw crowds in the future.”