PCB must focus on grass root cricket: Jalal

Former Pakistan fast bowler and one of country's most qualified coaches Jalaluddin has advised the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) to pick and groom talent from the grass root level in order to regain the lost glory of Pakistan Cricket.

Jalaluddin, who holds the distinction of performing the first ever hat-trick in One Day International cricket history in 1982 against Australia, told Telecom Asia Sport (www.telecomasia.net) that the downward spiral of Pakistan Cricket has come as no surprise to him since no solid measures have been taken by the PCB during the past two decades to resurrect the country's cricketing fortunes.

"You tell me one long-term measure that the PCB has taken since year 2000 to arrest the game's decline or to revive it on scientific lines," asked Jalal who is currently working for cricket development with the Michigan Cricket Association, USA.

"The PCB's National Cricket Academy (NCA), despite being a world class set-up, conducts no long-term, regional level programmes for the development of young cricketers," observed Jalal. "The NCA is also inaccessible to the budding cricketers and only selects some two dozen players from across the country to train them for a maximum of three to six weeks, that is it. There is not a single grass roots programme being conducted by the PCB despite the fact that we have tremendous talent in the country," argued Jalal.

He further backed his argument with the example of the West Indies Cricket, which he said nosedived since they never worked at the grass roots level.

Beng the most qualified cricket coach in Pakistan with Level-II Accreditation from England and Australia, Jalal has a vast experience of cricket deve¬lop-ment in Pakistan. It is to his credit that he brought cricket academies concept in the country, establishing the Customs Cricket Academy in 1999, the Vital Five Cricket Academy in 2009 and Jalaluddin Cricket Academy (JCA) in 2010.

Through these academies, under his coaching, many top class cricketers have been produced for the country including Fawad Alam, Yasir Shah, Shan Masood, Rameez Aziz, Saifullah Bangash, Muhamad Sami, Naveed Latif and many others.

"There are quite a few academies operating in Pakistan but they are all giving day-to-day coaching to youngsters and have no serious, well chalked out long-term programmes for cricket development.

"Professionally run cricket academies systematically develop cricketers over a period of three to four years by organizing well-planned, long duration programmes for all ages, and then you have a ready product for top level cricket. None of the academies are doing that," lamented Jalal.

Elaborating about the coaching programmes undertaken by his JCA and the Customs Cricket Academy, Jalal said: "We have a properly compiled book of coaching programmes being offered to the budding cricketers. One of our main cricket development programmes comprise three years for the under-15 players.

"Three years, in my opinion, are sufficient to prepare a top level player. In the first phase of almost one full year, my academy focusses on the basics of the game, skills development i.e batting, bowling and fielding, and physical fitness for one full year. The second phase is the specialisation phase where our coaches work with the budding cricketers on a one-to-one basis, working on their strengths and weaknesses. In this way, ours is a unique programme that can really produce high quality cricketers for the future."

Jalal said the outstanding players from his academy were also sent on tours to Sri Lanka and other countries to give them sound exposure. "Our trainees went on no less than 12 tours abroad and returned winners in 11 of them," he narrated proudly.

"I was also associated with the ICC's Asian Development Programme which was marked for eight of the best young players.

Jalal, who also served as the national chief selector for Pakistan's women cricket team, organised specialized training programmes for women players which produced a number of national level players including Sana Fatima, Aroob Shah, Wajeeha and a few others.

Jalal concluded by emphasising that only a heavy, organised investment by the PCB at the grass root level will revive Pakistan Cricket and nothing else.