00:00You spoke about Shan Masood. Shan took over the captaincy of Pakistan's test site replacing
00:06Babur Azam. How do you see him in that role?
00:08I was impressed with what I saw in Australia and I know Shan's captain of Yorkshire at
00:16the moment and is doing a fine job there. I've had a number of conversations with him.
00:21He's really enjoying the role there and he loved the opportunity to captain his country,
00:27Pakistan, which is great. He's energised and excited about that. He's very enthusiastic.
00:34We've had some really good discussions about ideas on how we can go about our play. He's
00:44very excited, very enthusiastic. I think we've got a very fine leader there and I'm really
00:49looking forward to working with him and working with all the players. My goal as coach, I
00:56just want to help the players get better and play good cricket. If we can do that and
01:01we can put some smiles on the faces of Pakistan's supporters, then I'll go a long way to doing
01:08my job.
01:09Pakistan has been considered to be a factory for producing fast bowlers. But surprisingly,
01:15the last two bowlers who took more than 200 wickets in test cricket are Waseem and Waqar.
01:21So why aren't we producing quality fast bowlers for this format?
01:26You just mentioned two of the best fast bowlers who have ever played the game of cricket in
01:30Waseem Akram and Waqar Younis. Two heroes of mine and heroes for a lot of people not
01:35just in Pakistan but all around the world. Naturally, any country would want to produce
01:40more players like that. I think in time that will happen. I suppose it's just getting the
01:47structures and the systems in place and getting exposure for young bowlers coming through.
01:56What's the pathway? How can we get that pathway right so that we can provide opportunity?
02:02One, it's talent ID. Identify talented bowlers and then give them opportunities to grow and
02:10nurture and learn, get stronger, work on the technical side of the game but expose them
02:18to match experiences and then be out there in the middle because that's how you learn.
02:26So I think it's a pathway situation where you get the systems and the structures in
02:31place and then we'll see. But there's obviously a number of bowlers that are coming through
02:37in recent times and let's hope that the current crop of Pakistan bowlers can continue on their
02:46trajectory to be the best bowlers they can be. Hopefully in time, in the next 10 years,
02:57the Pakistan public will be talking about current day players in the same breath as
03:02they talk about Wazim and Waqar and Imran and the likes of these guys. So that's certainly
03:09something. But you're right, Pakistan does have a rich history of fast bowling talent.
03:15How do we nurture that? That's the question. If we can get the systems and the structures
03:21in place, then I think that'll go a long way towards improving that situation.
03:26Expectations here are very high and we want good results. So how are you going to deliver
03:32that?
03:32Good challenge. It's going to be a real challenge. There's no doubt about that. Expectation
03:41is high when you have a country as proud and passionate as Pakistan. They love their cricket
03:50so much. They ride the highs and lows on a daily basis. We've got to manage the expectation
03:58of the players because the reality of professional sport is you're going to have some good days
04:02and you're going to have some not so good days. But it's managing that, it's media understanding
04:09that and managing that and I suppose not putting too much expectation on the players. Understand
04:16that the players are human beings as well. Whether anyone likes it or not, players see
04:25and hear what's written about them in the media and they're only human. If something
04:32is really negative and hurtful, that hurts people. It doesn't just affect the player,
04:39it affects their family and friends. So I think people just need to understand that
04:47players go out there to do the very best they can.
04:49Talking about Gary, have you been comparing notes? Is he giving you ideas about the team
04:55and the players?
04:57He's given me some feedback just as a general view and some of the players. He's interacted
05:03with the boys and I've met a few of the lads. I wanted to meet the guys in person. Obviously
05:08I've had to speak to Sian a little bit as captain, him being over in England. In terms
05:16of comparing notes, we're in charge of different formats. I know he's done a report to pass
05:29on to the PCB, which I'm not privy to because I'm the Red Bull coach. But Gary and I have
05:35spoken and there are things he's looking at. He's got a bit of time now to really sit back
05:43and take in and reflect on the World Cup. Bear in mind, he's only been in that role
05:51for a very short time, so it's quite new for him.
05:55Did you meet Masroor and you spoke with him? He's been looking after these kids for a very
06:01long time.
06:02I met him the other day. He came up to me and I went to shake his hand. He gave me a
06:07big hug. He and I are going to get along well. He's a lovely man and very passionate. He
06:15shared some of his learnings and thoughts. I'm really grateful to have him around and
06:24to go on this Shaheen's trip. He's known a lot of these players from a very young age.
06:31As a resource, he's unbelievable. Just having been at training the other day and seeing
06:37the respect he has from all the players is fantastic to see. There's that mutual respect.
06:45You can tell he loves the players. They love him. It's fantastic. I'm hoping as a coach
06:49to learn a lot from him because he's a very experienced coach.
06:54Your first assignment, the two tests against Bangladesh. Relatively easy I would say because
06:59Bangladesh has never won a test against us.
07:02I'm certainly not approaching it that way. Bangladesh are a good cricket side. There's
07:08no question of that. Any international game is very important. We need to make sure that
07:17we're at our best. We're well prepared. We're disciplined. We play good, hard, consistent
07:24cricket. That will give us the best chance to have some success but to best prepare to
07:29give ourselves the best chance to win those games.
07:32After that, we're going to face England. The last time they were here, they defeated us
07:373-0, bullied us in our own backyard. Are you going to retaliate this time?
07:43I hope so. It's very clear how they like to go about their cricket. We'll certainly formulate
07:51some strategies to come up with and some plans to play against England. That will be a fun
07:58series. I'm really excited about that. I know there's a bit of hurt from the last series
08:03here but we've got to take the lessons from that series and apply them because we certainly
08:10don't want to make the same mistakes that we made last time.
08:14Looking forward to this time ahead with Pakistan Cricket. I'm looking forward to seeing what
08:18we can do this time ahead with Pakistan Cricket. Hopefully we can all go on a journey together
08:22and have some success.
Comments