Recently PakPassion.net caught up with former Pakitani fast bowler Mohammad Akram. Here Akram share's his in-depth views on the future for Pakistan and the captaincy issue and Pakistan's latest captain - Salman Butt.

PakPassion Presents an Exclusive Interview with Mohammad Akram

by Saj Sadiq

31st July 2010

Recently PakPassion.net caught up with former Pakitani fast bowler Mohammad Akram. Here Akram share's his in-depth views on the future for Pakistan and the need to invest in youth. He also speaks of the captaincy issue and Pakistan's latest captain - Salman Butt.

PakPassion.Net: Well – let’s begin with a question everyone wants to know the answer to. A lot has happened over the last eighteen months and to be more specific the last week or so. When is this merry-go-round and this uncertainty/lack of organization going to end, in your view?

Mohammad Akram: There is no continuity in Pakistan. I have seen that we have always given a certain impression to the world showcasing shallowness. We should have a better frame of mind for our cricket and the structure of our cricket. People need to sit down and start coming up with solutions to the financial troubles the board has. It has become really embarrassing over the past 4-5 years and that needs to be changed. We need to show the world that we have a ton of talent in Pakistan and at this point in time we are wasting that talent.

There have been numerous captains in the recent while. They are brought in and then all of a sudden they decide the job is not for them anymore. The team does not know how to get along with other teammates and that also leads to the team not knowing how to win on the field.

PakPassion.Net: You touched on the point regarding uncertainty surrounding the captaincy for Pakistan cricket. Who do you blame for all of this uncertainty as far as captaincy is concerned? Surely, it cannot be the players every single time? Is the board to blame?

Mohammad Akram: Yes, the board is to blame. There are issues with the cricket board and it’s been the case for the past 4-5 years. Whenever the government changes, the board also changes. This leads to new laws/regulations/visions that completely ruin the minimal progress that is being made. New governments never realize that the cricketing aspect of the nation should be left alone. They never understand that the board should not change all the time and its best they focus on other areas of the nation that require attention.

When you start disturbing the players – this is when you should understand that you are messing with something you shouldn’t be messing with. It seems to be the culture in Pakistan, whenever a new individual comes to power they want to show some sort of authority. We need to put an end to that sort of thing and start moving forward by getting youngsters in. Get youngsters inside the board – those that have recently retired and know the modern style of the game. We don’t always have to go back to the people that have played their cricket in the 1950s and the 1960s. The world has begun to move forward and we should as well.

PakPassion.Net: So, you are suggesting that cricket has revolutionalized and we need young blood to start running the board instead of old seniors?

Mohammad Akram: Absolutely, we need some passionate individuals within the board. I spoke with the previous Pakistan cricket board and told them about individuals in the board not being well educated. I explained that this is not a major problem – it only takes a three to six month management course and if you hire someone young, they will already know about the modern game. If you bring people from normal backgrounds [no cricket experience] – you will always see bad results within the board.

PakPassion.Net: So, it’s fair to assume that cricket in Pakistan should be run by former cricketers?

Mohammad Akram: Absolutely. Sure, in marketing and other departments – we can obviously use expertise as that is required in those jobs. Individuals within the board and those running the academies should be young individuals with cricketing history from the recent past.

PakPassion.Net: Coming to the events of this week – what did you make of Shahid Afridi being appointed captain for this tour? Also, what did you make of Shahid Afridi’s resignation after the first test match?

Mohammad Akram: It was very embarrassing when I heard he resigned after losing one test match. I was shocked at the timing of the decision. It seemed that he was under tremendous pressure and to be honest, they should not have named him as captain.

If he was appointed as the skipper of the team, it was simply because he was considered a father figure for the young side. He was the senior most player in the side – this seemed like the only reason he was appointed as captain. To leave the side at this point in the tour and a young side at that, it’s really heartbreaking for all of the players.

However, we need to go back in time a bit. When Shoaib Malik was appointed captain, the board wanted someone who listened to them. When Shoaib Malik started to learn about the tactical side of the spot – they changed him. I would not say that he was a bad captain, but he was too young at the time. If they wanted to invest in him, then they should have kept him as captain. When they took him off – they did not tell the world in regards to why he was removed. No one knew what the reason was for his removal and everyone was left confused. Younus Khan was like a child in a new house – he wanted to be captain and all of a sudden he didn’t want to be captain and then he wanted to be captain again. It was a horrible approach and at that time – if I was the chairman, I would have sacked him and told him, ‘goodbye’.

The main problem is the board because they cannot stand with their original decision. If a player is saying, “I am taking my retirement back” – the board becomes humble and says “sure, you can come back” - this is a horrible way of handling things. If there was any other cricket board in the same position, they would start investing in other youngsters and move forward – just look at South Africa.

When they made Shoaib Malik, captain – even during that time I mentioned one name and that was Salman Butt. I felt that he was an educated lad and he had a bright future ahead of him. When, Mohammad Yousuf became captain, he left as well. The whole saga of ‘I am going to retire’ and ‘i am not going to retire’ happened again. Now, they are knocking the door again – Younus and Yousuf, according to a close friend of mine. I am always thinking about the country and according to me, they should not be coming back into the team – they simply should not be allowed back. If we lose games then we lose games. We need to let the current crop of youngsters develop and hone their skills at the highest level and gain valuable experience.

If we have dropped certain players, we should not always go back – an example needs to be set. At Lord’s, when the side was announced, both debutants were playing at the best venue in the world against the best team in the world. When I saw both youngsters walk into the middle of the pitch on TV – it seemed like men against kids. The new batch of players should not be wasted, we have seen on numerous occasions that we bring a youngster in and ruin their career. I can easily list 20 players that I have played alongside with who had their bright careers ruined because of poor management. I see this happening to these youngsters as well, if they don’t perform – they’ll be thrown back and won’t be considered.

I really want the board to groom our youngsters and go forward with the idea of not ruining the player’s career early on. Just look at the Australians, their average age for debut seems to be around the 28 years of age mark. While, Pakistan cricket has an average debut age of around 21. Players that are coming into the squad should be mature and we really need to address these things. If they are going to go down the route of playing them now, the players should be playing in at least two to three series. This is the only way to find out if they are talented or busts. Everyone will be able to assess their temperament and if they have invested in Salman Butt as test captain – he should be made ODI/T20 captain as well.

PakPassion.Net: Just to address/review some of the points made. You have talked about continuity within the board and that youngsters should be tried in a couple of series before assessing their talent. Also, if you choose a captain, you give him a full chance at succeeding rather than after two series, you bring the old guys back. Resignation is evidently not an option.

Mohammad Akram: Obviously, when you lose as a team and captain – you don’t just go back and resign. This is not the right attitude to have. Cricketers are now lucky to have proper academies to guide them and these things should be addressed there. Players need to be taught that if you win or lose, it does not make a difference. As a player, you need to have the ability/mindset to bounce back and work harder after each and every fall. Resigning and putting the whole team’s morale down is not the way to handle things, it’s not good for the boys or the nation.

PakPassion.Net: Just touching upon the point of Younis and Yousuf. A lot of people are suggesting that this is a very inexperienced squad and these players are required. However, you are clearly stating that these players should be left out and youngsters should be persisted with. Why is that?

Mohammad Akram: Yes. The problem is that these players think they can walk into the side as they wish – there is absolutely no doubt about that. You cannot just walk into a team whenever you want to; this is not how things are supposed to work. One day you are retired from cricket and the other you aren’t. It’s not embarrassing living inside of the country, but living abroad and having to face those people every day and having to answer questions about these u-turns is tough.

Now, what I am really saying is that – fine, we have made these decisions to bring youngsters in, now let’s focus on that. The domestic cricket structure should be strengthened and then we should bring in matured cricketers. Youngsters should not be thrown into the international side. However, now that we have made the decision to go down this route again – we should not kick them out after one series. We need to keep them for two or three series and then figure out whether the youngster has a chance of succeeding at the highest level. Cricketers aged 26-27 should also be considered as they will be fully developed and ready for international cricket. The nation’s selection policy for the past 10-15 years has been to place 18/19 year old boys into the side. This is an absolutely faulty policy to have because I feel cricketers making debuts within the side should be mature.

During my period as a cricketer in the Pakistan side – I saw 5-6 youngsters that played with me and it seemed as if they played one match and were instantly dropped. Those youngsters were never to be seen again and were considered complete busts, yet they only played a match or two. This should never happen to youngsters, we should grind them in domestic cricket prior to bringing them into the international arena.
Sure, the side looks like an under-19 side, but the choice has been made to play them and it’s time to stick with them. They should not be dropped. Fans and everyone else related to Pakistani cricket should not be expecting victories with this side. As a cricketer, I know we need to give them at least a year or so before judging their capabilities.

PakPassion.Net: Going on about your point regarding Salman Butt and his captaincy. I know you are a huge fan of his, do you feel he is the right choice to lead the team forward?

Mohammad Akram: To be honest, in an ideal situation senior cricketers should always be leading the side. At this time, there is no cricketer to select from and Salman Butt seems to be the right choice from the lads that are there. Playing international cricket is not easy, you cannot just throw the captaincy around because this ruins everything within a team and messes up the balance as well.

Personally, when Afridi was made captain – I thought Salman Butt should have been given the job then.

I would like to make a major point about team selection, though. Salman Butt should not have to deal with any former captains when leading the team. None of the previous captains should be selected as this will only make things awkward for Butt. Salman Butt has been appointed captain and he should have a sense of authority over his players and that can’t happen with a former skipper in the ranks. When you have a former captain in the team, they always tend to want to start team politics and as a fan I don’t want to see that happen again. I have no problem seeing a young Pakistani side in the next year or so because they will eventually develop and mature.

PakPassion.Net: Also, regarding the Shahid Afridi fiasco – he states that he was forced by the board to become captain as there was no other choice. Who do you blame in this situation? Would it be the board for pressurizing someone who does not want to be a test captain? Could it be Afridi for accepting captaincy when he did not really want it?

Mohammad Akram: Shahid Afridi has always been a strong talent in regards to ODI cricket and T20 cricket. The thing is that we all know his limit, he is capable of winning games in the limited overs format of the game and there is no doubt about that. However, no one has ever rated him as a proper test player and he never was going to be rated as one.

The board was under so much pressure after the team came back from Australia. Due to this pressure, they made a lot of mistakes. If you start counting, there are too many. They did not really have a choice apart from going back to Afridi, especially after the Younus/Yousuf fiasco. This is where things went completely wrong. The board was under pressure to fix everything after the losses in Australia and this was coming from the fans, media and former players. They really wanted to make a decision to show they had things under control. When it came to choosing a captain, they decided that Afridi was a father figure in the side and he can lead them to victory. Sure, he is a strong character, but he was not the appropriate choice. I am not sure if Afridi was literally pressurized into becoming captain, but the board sure was and they made a rash decision. I am sure they realize they made a mistake now after what happened.

PakPassion.Net: Now, we were critical of the PCB and you made a few points about the senior players in the side. Even though we criticize the board a lot, it appears that a few players are holding the board at ransom. They seem to know the team can’t survive without them.

Mohammad Akram: Absolutely, we have to make a strong decision right now. We know that they are great cricketers, but there is always something to look forward to. We need to invest in the youngsters now and we need to stick with them. I feel that these youngsters will become superstars, if given a proper go. They are a very talented lot. Youngsters need to know that they are playing. If I was playing a youngster at this point in time, I would tell them that they are in the side regardless of performance for the next little while. This would allow the cricketer to play his natural game instead of going into a shell to continue his career.

Our background is not rich in terms of money. A lot of the cricketers that come into the team are not financially sound and they seem to have a sense of insecurity. This makes the idea of telling them about an extended run even more important.

PakPassion.Net: Now, you were telling me about perhaps getting employed with the Pakistan cricket board. What do you have to say about getting involved with the board in the near future?

Mohammad Akram: When you say, “Pakistan cricket” – I do not want to get involved with the actual board. If I get offered a proper ICC job or perhaps a match referee job – I will happily accept the offer. To be honest, I know the PCB is a mess and I have no interest in working within the actual board.

PakPassion.Net: Thank you for spending time with us and answering some of our questions.

Mohammad Akram: Thank you.