Mental toughness is the key: Mohsin
PCB chief selector to work at Fast Track programme from today.
KARACHI:
The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Chief Selector Mohsin Khan will take additional responsibility at the National Cricket Academy (NCA) in Lahore today as he works with upcoming batsmen to help them improve their skills.
The former Test opener, who is one of the coaches at the PCB’s Fast Track Programme, will oversee the batsmen and is hopeful of getting positive results.
The two-week training programme will also see former fast-bowler Sarfraz Nawaz train the quicker bowlers from today. Abdul Qadir, another coach at the programme, will oversee the spinners’ training from July 20.
The course for batsmen carries huge importance considering Pakistan’s declining performance with the willow in recent times. Losses have been repeatedly blamed on the batsmen and that has pushed the need for a batting coach with the team.
However, Mohsin, who played 48 Tests and 75 One-Day Internationals for Pakistan, feels only a little work will be enough to bring improvement.
“Our batsmen are vastly talented,” Mohsin told The Express Tribune. “There isn’t much work required on them and we just need to rectify some minor faults.
“Pakistan, along with the West Indies and Sri Lanka, usually get players with loads of natural talent. Such players only require tuning.”
Mohsin added his main task was to bring mental toughness among batsmen.
“We lack in mental toughness, which is vital in bringing improvement. I will try and teach them how to deal with pressure situations during the next 15 days. I won’t work on technique because that’s not what we lack in.”
The former player, famous for his back-to-back centuries on bouncy Australian pitches, also plans on giving guidelines to the players.
As many as 12 batsmen including national team members have been invited in the first stage of the programme. Umar Akmal, Taufiq Umar, Asad Shafiq, Azhar Ali, Usman Salahuddin, Naveed Yasin, Umar Amin, Sharjeel Khan, Saeed Anwar, Mohammad Ayub, Babar Azam and Shan Masood are the batsmen.
Pool of 25 players for World Twenty20
Meanwhile, the chief selector was impressed by the youngsters’ performance at the recently-concluded Faysal Bank Super Eight T20 Cup.
“It was a fabulous event and the performance of the players was a great delight to see,” he said before adding that the tournament helped him a lot in plans to form a pool for next year’s World Twenty20 in Sri Lanka.
“There were six to seven youngsters who showed great potential. They’ll definitely get a chance.
“We will form a pool of 25 players for the World Twenty20 but it will be a mix of seniors and young players.”
Published in The Express Tribune, July 4th, 2011.
The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Chief Selector Mohsin Khan will take additional responsibility at the National Cricket Academy (NCA) in Lahore today as he works with upcoming batsmen to help them improve their skills.
The former Test opener, who is one of the coaches at the PCB’s Fast Track Programme, will oversee the batsmen and is hopeful of getting positive results.
The two-week training programme will also see former fast-bowler Sarfraz Nawaz train the quicker bowlers from today. Abdul Qadir, another coach at the programme, will oversee the spinners’ training from July 20.
The course for batsmen carries huge importance considering Pakistan’s declining performance with the willow in recent times. Losses have been repeatedly blamed on the batsmen and that has pushed the need for a batting coach with the team.
However, Mohsin, who played 48 Tests and 75 One-Day Internationals for Pakistan, feels only a little work will be enough to bring improvement.
“Our batsmen are vastly talented,” Mohsin told The Express Tribune. “There isn’t much work required on them and we just need to rectify some minor faults.
“Pakistan, along with the West Indies and Sri Lanka, usually get players with loads of natural talent. Such players only require tuning.”
Mohsin added his main task was to bring mental toughness among batsmen.
“We lack in mental toughness, which is vital in bringing improvement. I will try and teach them how to deal with pressure situations during the next 15 days. I won’t work on technique because that’s not what we lack in.”
The former player, famous for his back-to-back centuries on bouncy Australian pitches, also plans on giving guidelines to the players.
As many as 12 batsmen including national team members have been invited in the first stage of the programme. Umar Akmal, Taufiq Umar, Asad Shafiq, Azhar Ali, Usman Salahuddin, Naveed Yasin, Umar Amin, Sharjeel Khan, Saeed Anwar, Mohammad Ayub, Babar Azam and Shan Masood are the batsmen.
Pool of 25 players for World Twenty20
Meanwhile, the chief selector was impressed by the youngsters’ performance at the recently-concluded Faysal Bank Super Eight T20 Cup.
“It was a fabulous event and the performance of the players was a great delight to see,” he said before adding that the tournament helped him a lot in plans to form a pool for next year’s World Twenty20 in Sri Lanka.
“There were six to seven youngsters who showed great potential. They’ll definitely get a chance.
“We will form a pool of 25 players for the World Twenty20 but it will be a mix of seniors and young players.”
Published in The Express Tribune, July 4th, 2011.