Ex Chief Selector and wicket-keeper, Saleem Yousuf, spoke at length with PakPassion.net on his own career, his tenure as a the Chief of Selectors and his views on Pakistani cricket.

(April 28th, 2012)

PakPassion.net is delighted to present an interview with former Pakistani wicketkeeper and Chief SelectorSaleem Yousuf.

Karachi born Yousuf was a highly successful international wicketkeeper who stood behind the stumps to some of the greatest Pakistani bowlers in history. Being the successor of Wasim Bari, was no mean feat, but Yousufproved himself an agile and athletic keeper and a more than handy lower order batsmen with some authoritative and gritty innings. He was also one of the rare keepers in those days who had opened the batting as well.

Yousuf played in 32 Tests and 86 ODIs from 1982 to 1990 and he made his highest Test score of 91 not out against England at Edgbaston in 1987. However one of his finest innings was in a match against the West Indies in the 1987 World Cup, where an invaluable 56 runs turned certain defeat into victory for Pakistan.

Following his playing days, he also served as a Chief Selector for Pakistan.

PakPassion.net: In 1987 you were part of a formidable Pakistani World Cup lineup. You ended up going down to Australia in the semi finals on a home ground. How was the feeling at that time?

Saleem Yousuf: Obviously after losing any big game like this, the feeling in the dressing room are not great. But the Pakistani team at this time was one of the best teams in the world. At that time we were ranked the number one team. As with any 50 over game, you need to have things go your way and you need to make crucial decisions very quickly. 

Unfortunately I had hurt my teeth and hence Miandad had to keep. Australia were obviously a very strong and well balanced team. I feel that it was our bad luck that we didn’t win that World Cup. 


PakPassion.net: Was there any one moment where you think if it had fallen your way it may have given your team a favourable result? 

Saleem Yousuf: As I said before, the crunch situations are the most important as time is limited and you have to make the decisions quickly. It was a big game, the semi final and that too of a World Cup. I don’t think there were any mistakes on our part, just credit has to go to the Australian team who played good cricket.


PakPassion.net: You have been considered one of the best wicketkeepers Pakistan has ever produced. Your batting was also very good. There was obviously the gritty 56 runs you scored against the West Indies to win a World Cup game for Pakistan. Do you have any other memorable moments on the cricket field that you remember fondly? 

Saleem Yousuf: There are a lot of special moments playing for Pakistan. Thanks to God, I have played 11 years for Pakistan and many special situations have come and there have been some great games. However the one that sticks out is the test match against India at Bangalore. In that test match, when I held the final catch of Roger Binny to win the test match it was a special moment. It was after so many years Pakistan received a test series victory against India in India.


PakPassion.net: Was there any other catches that you would like to mention? 

Saleem Yousuf: There was a game at Sharjah I think which was against India. Waqar was blowing and I took the catch as the ball was travelling towards second slip. That was a special catch. Over a cricketers career there are many matches and there are a lot of memories, but what brought me the most happiness was the fact that we all played as a team. If the top order failed, the lower order would step up. We had a fighting spirit in the team. If you look at the matches over that period, you will see how well we performed. I would urge any youngster to take heed from this, that you need to learn to play as a team. When a team plays as a team, you will see outstanding performances. In that period, we saw fast bowlers such as Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis. In the spin department we had Abdul Qadir and Mushtaq Ahmed. With the openers we had Saeed Anwar. These are outstanding cricketers. If you watch these matches and you compare our team with other teams, we played as a bunch. We relied on all eleven players to perform their role. It is because of this team spirit that sports lovers still talk about this great team.


PakPassion.net: You had one of the best bowling attack in the world to keep against. Out of all of the greats you have faced, who did you find most difficult to keep to?

Saleem Yousuf: As a keeper, it was my role that I had to keep well. The issue is that, a lot of it depends on the wickets you are faced with. Against each bowler I would practice a lot, so it wasn’t a particular bowler which fazed me. The issue was the pitch and whether it was turning a lot or there was uneven bounce. Going back to that game at Bangalore again, you may remember that the ball in the 2nd over that Wasim Akram got Mohinder Amarnath out to, that was really a spin ball! He was caught behind after the ball hit his gloves. So a lot depends on the wickets and the behaviour of the pitch. In Australia wicketkeeping is generally a bit easier. In England it’s difficult as the ball moves right in the end whereas in Indo-Pakistan it is a bit tougher with the pitch conditions. Plus obviously our bowlers were very good. We had Abdul Qadir, Tauseef Ahmed and Iqbal Qasim who used to bowl really well. We had an outstanding spin department but in that period, we had some exceptional fast bowlers. This made us very successful especially since we had match winning bowlers. Batsmen have a role to play but bowlers are the real match winners. 


PakPassion.net: You have mentioned names of some great players whom you have played with. Who would you rate as the best amongst all of them? 

Saleem Yousuf: For outstanding cricketers you have to look at the performances. We had Imran Khan, Javed Miandad – these were outstanding. Wasim and Waqar were both outstanding with the ball. Cricket is a team game, and you cannot pick one as the standout as that would be unfair. And as I said we played as a team and everyone contributed to the success of the team. If you remember the tour to the West Indies in 1986, when we were unfortunate to draw and not win that tour. They were at the time an unbeatable team with some outstanding cricketers. However the performance of Pakistan was simply inspiring. 


PakPassion.net: Any favourite venue of yours? 

Saleem Yousuf: When you talk about cricketing venues, it was always my dream to play at Lord, the home of cricket. Australian grounds are also outstanding with great crowds to play in front of. I feel it is special moment when you perform well on English and Australian grounds. 


PakPassion.net: You played your entire cricket without a helmet. At that time there were some lethal bowlers around with pace and bounce. Why did you decide to play without a helmet? 

Saleem Yousuf: There was no particular reason. It depends on each individual and how they feel comfortable. If you feel comfortable doing something, it is better to stick to it. You see, in Karachi we used to play a lot of cricket on cement wickets and they would bounce much more than the wickets we see on cricket pitches. This is where I learnt to play cricket, and you may remember I did dish out some punishment to the West Indies bowlers with my hook and pull shots. Your basics are most important, and hence not wearing a helmet was not a statement of courage – it wasn’t a major issue for me. However in today’s modern time, the risk of injury is much better managed. I still remember being hit in the nose by one of the greatest fast bowlers in the world, Malcolm Marshall, in Barbados when I was playing without a helmet. However for youngsters, I would still highly recommend they wear helmets as it’s important to protect them. In today’s cricket if you make one slight mistake, you can hurt yourself. You need to focus on cricket and on your injuries. Not wearing a helmet for me was more a result of being comfortable without one.


PakPassion.net: There was a heated incident between you and Ian Botham when you claimed a catch that had touched the ground. What did Ian Botham say and what was your response?

Saleem Yousuf: Basically the wicket-keeper has a fraction of a second to act. It’s really in the heat of the moment - as a wicket-keeper, when you dive to take a catch and make sure that you've covered it properly, you don't realise if you have a taken the catch cleanly or not. Since all of this happens in a fraction of seconds, as a wicket-keeper, it is my right to appeal and it is the umpire's job to decide.


PakPassion.net: In modern-day cricket, they say being a wicket-keeper batsman is the most demanding role. Would you agree with this?

Saleem Yousuf: What you have mentioned its completely correct. If you have a wicket-keeper that can bat, it benefits the captain and team a lot. As an example, in Sharjah, when Imran Khan wanted to play an extra bowler, he would make me open the batting. I have actually opened the batting on a quite a few occasions - in Australia and West Indies. I have also opened the batting with Saeed Anwar and Aamir Sohail. 

Even though having a wicket-keeper that can bat is an added benefit to the captain and team, wicket-keeping is still far more important than the batting aspect. You need the right man for the job and not someone who would end up dropping four catches in a match. If you drop a catch in fielding – say at fine leg – then it is not that bad as that is not a specialist role. Since wicket-keeping is a specialised position, having catches dropped, runouts and stumpings missed is demoralising for the team. Therefore, first and foremost, having a good quality wicket-keeper is most important. Then, if that wicket keeper can bat, that adds value and provides more flexibility to the team in that they play the wicket-keeper as an opener and add an extra bowler. This gives the team batting strength and a better balanced team.


PakPassion.net: You are currently not involved in cricket. Have you considered a role as coach or an umpire? Do you have an interest in any of these positions?

Saleem Yousuf: I am not interested in umpiring. If the PCB believe that I am qualified and Pakistan cricket needs my help, I am ready to offer my services - free of cost. However, I am not going to go and ask them myself. The fact is that all of us got recognition because of cricket and Alhamdulillah, cricket is the reason why everyone recognises us world-wide. Its my personal wish that I can be of help or assistance to anyone.


PakPassion.net: When Kamran Akmal first started as a wicket-keeper, his performance was very good. However, over time we saw a decline in the standard of his keeping. What would you say is the reason for this?

Saleem Yousuf: Kamran is a very talented player. The logic should be that you focus on your main role since that this reason you are in the team. If you have a fast bowler who starts batting well, that is a plus point. However, his main role as a fast bowler is to take wickets and that is the reason why he is in the team. In the case of Kamran Akmal, he came into the team as a wicket-keeper and he should have concentrated on that first. If he has problems in keeping then he should work on them. Age is still on his side and I believe he should focus entirely on his keeping and work on the issues as he has talent and experience. As was discussed between us, the aim should be to focus on the issues and making wicket-keeping his number one priority. As I said, his keeping comes first and the batting is simply a plus point. I believe that he focused more on his batting and ignored his keeping and that is why he faced so many problems.


PakPassion.net: Are there any technical issues in his keeping?

Saleem Yousuf: There are a couple of minor technical issues in his keeping but those can be eliminated through hard-work. He has the talent and his performance is there for all to see. However, if the keeper continuously drops catches, it hurts the team a lot. In Kamran's case, I feel he needs to focus purely on his keeping. It is still not late for him to make a comeback in to the team, if he sorts out these issues. He should start with T20 format and use it to build his confidence. I suppose it’s up to PCB as I don’t really know what other issues he has but he should use T20 format to rebuild his confidence.


PakPassion.net: In the current lot of wicket-keepers, we have Sarfraz Ahmed who performed well in the ODIs in the Asia Cup. Adnan Akmal's performance in the Test series has been pretty good, although his batting isn't that strong. In your view, who should be Pakistan's first choice wicket-keeper at this point?

Saleem Yousuf: Sarfraz is keeping very well and his batting is also pretty good. The trend problem in our cricket is to shuffle our players in and out of the team very frequently and shatter their confidence. The fact is that a player has good and bad series. If you want to develop a player, you need to play him through both the good and bad series. What happens in our cricket is that we play a player against a tough opponent like Australia and then drop him against the likes of Zimbabwe or Bangladesh! That is the perfect time where he can recharge himself and make a comeback. His replacement comes in for the next series and ends up playing a weaker opponent. The player needs to be given a complete chance so he can prove himself over a couple of series. After all, you saw something in him when he was selected in the first placeso why not take it to its logical conclusion? Adnan Akmal has performed well in the test matches. He has also batted well. 

We need to decide what we want to do in terms of our keeping options and make sure that we give each player a complete run. What normally happens is that we generally make too many changes in the team. For example, a keeper performs well in one format. We then play him as a keeper for the other formats and then as quickly, we also discard him from those formats. These are the types of things that damage our cricket. The focus needs to be on deciding what player in what position and specific format. This is the job of the selectors and coaches. They need to be clear why they selected him – was it for just one match? This needs to be planned out properly. For example, we have found two good batsmen in Asad Shafiq and Azhar Ali. They are outstanding players in terms of their batting and fielding. These two youngsters need to be groomed and made into great players. Its the job of the seniors to help them out. Likewise, in terms of our keeping options, we have Adnan Akmal for Tests and Sarfraz for ODIs, which is a very good approach. We just need to persist with them and give them a proper chance.


PakPassion.net: Commentators and former cricketers all say that Umar Akmal has a lot of talent. If you look at his performance, he has been given many chances, yet we have not seen any improvement. What would you say is the reason for this?

Saleem Yousuf: In a way you have answered your own question when you stated that he has a “lot of talent”. Our issue is that when a young player first plays cricket, we start comparing him with Viv Richards, Ian Botham, Zaheer Abbas, Imran Khan, etc. The player has just started his career and after one fifty, we end up relating that players to all sorts of legends of the game. As a result, the player's mind is more focused on these types of things and less on the actual cricket. As for Umar Akmal, he has loads of talent, but what is the use of such talent if it isn't utilised properly. We need real match winners. We don’t need a talent based on hyperbole! Yes, he has talent but he needs to prove himself and win us matches if we are actually going to be comparing him to the greats. We so easily compare players to Viv Richards, but he was a real match winner. Same goes for Brian Lara.


PakPassion.net: If we look at the batting styles and talent of the likes of Brian Lara, Ponting or Sachin Tendulkar, all their shots are played along the ground. On the other hand, Umar Akmal continues to play uppishly. What is the reason for this?

Saleem Yousuf: It goes back to what I saying earlier. We tend to compare our players to the legends of the games early on and that gets to these players. When Junaid Khan first played, people started comparing him to Wasim Akram. We need to let these players prove themselves by performing. Wasim Akram had to work so hard before he attained the stature of a “great” player. Same goes for Waqar Younis. Let them play 15-20 test matches to prove themselves before we start making these comparisons. The fact is that we compare these youngsters with the greats of the games without realising the hardwork and struggle of those greats and what it took for them to reach that status. In summary, we ignore the important aspects of becoming a great player and look at unnecessary elements which serve no real purpose in the grooming of a young player.


PakPassion.net: How was your experience as a chief selector of the Pakistan team in 2003? How did you overcome the difficulties you faced, such as the pressure from the PCB as well as the political interference?

Saleem Yousuf: To be honest, I try not to become pressurised in any situation. I come from a middle class family, and am aware of how difficult it is to progress for those that come from middle class families. I therefore did not entertain any nepotism and only rewarded talent. I did not try not to take any recommendations from anyone, and gave more of a chance to the talent that I saw for myself. If I didn’t do that, I would be wronging both myself and my country. I have no financial requirement to stay involved with the PCB as a manager or chief selector, I don’t need the money. Everything God has given me is due to cricket, so I prefer to take a positive approach and to work with positive people. 


PakPassion.net: You may have recently had the opportunity to watch the domestic T20 tournament, Lot of people came in the Stadium and enjoyed the matches, they got the opportunity to see Pakistani players in action. In your Opinion, do you see Pakistan is a safe place to play for foriegn teams and what should be the PCB's primary objective at this moment in time?

Saleem Yousuf: Currently, our country and all the cricket lovers are suffering a great deal with there being no international cricket in Pakistan. The PCB’s primary aim should therefore be to bring international cricket back to the country. After Bangladesh’s refusal, the PCB should now invite a pool of recently retired international cricketers to play in Pakistan. I am sure they will agree to this. 

There is no major problem at the moment in Pakistan, and the media should do all it can to highlight this. It is up to people, such as you, to highlight the fact that Pakistan is a safe place to play cricket. There are always small issues happening all over the world, so the most important thing at the moment is to bring international cricket back to Pakistan. Bangladesh may have refused to tour Pakistan but the PCB needs to continue its efforts. The way to accomplish this is to start a Premier League and invite the recently retired cricketers because they no longer have any involvement with the ICC. The people of Pakistan love their cricket, they come to the stadiums in their thousands and matches are completed without any problems, so we need to clear any doubts anyone has. 

We could also invite U19 or U15 teams from other countries in order to get international cricket back. We are a talented nation, with talented youngsters, and our achievements are there for all to see. Pakistan is ours, and we all need to work together and focus to take this talent, and the country, forward. Every one of us can play our part in bringing international cricket back to Pakistan.


PakPassion.net: As a former Pakistan player, do you think that 5 year ban given to Mohammad Amir was correct? 

Saleem Yousuf: Look, this is primarily a matter for the courts. However, I would say that first of all, I feel that the relationship between a cricket board and its team, is like a father-son relationship. The squad members are like the children of the board. A father can give his children anything, all the money he wants, but if the children go astray, then it’s the father that suffers. You need to remain focussed and ensure that the right punishment is given at the right time, and that way nothing will happen. If you tolerate ignorance, then these issues will continue to arise, and we all suffer. More importantly, the country will suffer.

The punishment is definitely harsh, but we need to think of the best way to protect our players. The punishment should ensure that no other player makes the same mistake. If I had recommended that he should be let off lightly, than I would be a criminal and so would Amir. If anyone makes a mistake like this, then an example needs to be set. This type of thing can be tolerated if it was towards me or you or anyone else, but not when it effects the reputation of Pakistan.


PakPassion.net: Finally, how do you think Pakistan’s domestic structure can be improved?

Saleem Yousuf: It’s very simple, we must focus on club cricket. The more club cricket grows, the more talent we will produce. School cricket has just about disappeared, so how can a player improve if he doesn’t play school cricket, when all the fields have had rooms built on them to cater for O’Levels and A’Levels? Children used to have grounds to play on – they had 2 hour sports sessions! So we need to think on those lines.

If we give importance to club cricket, we will get more matches between regional teams, and the talent will blossom by itself, allowing the youngsters to develop a fighting spirit. We need to spend money on areas from where the talent will develop, and that is from the lower and middle class of the country. If you think that the son of a rich man will develop into a world class sportsman, then I am afraid, it’s not possible. 

These individuals don’t have the dreams or aspirations of being able to buy things for themselves such as motorbikes etc, and only when you have the dream of achieving something can you become a great sportsman.


PakPassion.net: Many thanks for your time.

Saleem Yousuf: Thank you.

Discuss!