Dogar spoke with PakPassion.net about his career to date, aspirations for the upcoming tour of Sri Lanka and working with the new coaches Dav Whatmore and Julien Fountain.

By Nasser Khan (May 12th 2012)

Sialkot and Punjab right handed middle order batsman Mohammad Ayub Dogar’s international selection has been a long time coming. At the age of 32, his selection for the Test team has arrived after over a decade of domestic cricket. 

He has played 93 first-class matches and averages 44 but his performances over the last four years have been particularly impressive, scoring over 4000 runs in this period. 

Dogar spoke with PakPassion.net about his career to date, aspirations for the upcoming tour of Sri Lanka and working with the new coaches Dav Whatmore and Julien Fountain.


PakPassion.net: Thanks for speaking with PakPassion. 

Mohammad Ayub Dogar: My pleasure.


PakPassion.net: You're currently playing league cricket in England. Which league are you playing in and how is it going?

Mohammad Ayub Dogar: I'm playing in the North Staffs South Cheshire League for Oakamoor Cricket club. Things are going very well at the moment so far this season.


PakPassion.net: You've been called up to the international side after over a decade of domestic cricket. You must be delighted at being given the opportunity to represent Pakistan on the international stage?

Mohammad Ayub Dogar: Absolutely. I've worked hard for 11 or 12 years in domestic cricket and I'm very happy to have received this chance. I'm also very grateful to the selectors for this opportunity.


PakPassion.net: How did you find out you had been selected for the Test series in Sri Lanka? From the television or were you notified beforehand?

Mohammad Ayub Dogar: I found out from the television. I didn't know anything about my selection before that!


PakPassion.net: You've had a lengthy stint in first class cricket, tell us about how it started?

Mohammad Ayub Dogar: My cricket career started in Sheikhupura. At that time, it was a first-class team and Aaqib Javed was the captain with Rana Naved and Jaffar Nazir were amongst the senior players in the team. After that I played for Sialkot's regional team and then Sui Northern Gas for a few years too.


PakPassion.net: You average over 44 with the bat from nearly 100 first-class matches, but you have excelled in particular over the past few seasons. What do you put that down to?

Mohammad Ayub Dogar: I've actually been playing well for the last four seasons. In the last four seasons, I have scored 4,395 runs in that period, with 15 centuries and 22 half-centuries and an average of nearly 50. I am one of the few players in Pakistan who have managed to score over 4,000 runs in the last four seasons.


PakPassion.net: What would be the reason for this improvement in your performance? Was it maturity, greater experience or some technical changes?

Mohammad Ayub Dogar: A bit of everything really. It came together through extra hard work and it all comes down to this. I put in the effort for the full season and managed to perform. The selectors choose players based on their criteria, but that isn't in my control. What I can be responsible for however is application and working hard, focussing on my game and performing. 

I was close to selection for the series against England in the UAE and the selectors also picked me for the Pakistan "A" side to play against England. I'm just grateful to be given the chance and will give 100% for my nation.


PakPassion.net: When your name was mentioned in the list of players provided with central contracts, a lot of people had not previously heard too much about you. However, once your statistics were analysed, they were surprised at the level at which you had been performing in domestic cricket.

Mohammad Ayub Dogar: Unfortunately, a lot of the first-class matches are not televised. Due to this, very few people are aware of my performances. When I started playing cricket, if a player scored a thousand runs in a season, he would definitely be selected for the international side. 

However, I continued to focus on my game and when I wasn't selected I doubled my efforts, using it as a motivating factor to improve my batting further. By the grace of Allah and the prayers of my mother, I was selected. It didn't come easily or quickly – I wasn't selected in the first season that I scored a thousand runs, not the second, nor the third. However, it has come now and I look forward to taking any opportunities that come my way.


PakPassion.net: There are three tests coming up against Sri Lanka. You must be hoping for a chance to perform in the national side?

Mohammad Ayub Dogar: I am in the squad and will certainly try my best should I be selected in the final team to face Sri Lanka. I will hope to repaying the faith shown by the selectors and not let them down. In particular, I would like to thank the Chairman Chaudhry Zaka Ashraf who highlighted my performances and indicated a player who is scoring so many runs and shouldn't be ignored.


PakPassion.net: The critics will say a 32-year old being selected for the national side isn't a good thing and that it would be better to select a youngster. What are your thoughts on that?

Mohammad Ayub Dogar: If it was about age they should have given me the chance four years ago! However, I did not have the maturity as a player back then, when I was 25 or 26 and it's the batsmen over the age of 30 who are performing in the modern game. 

Cricket is a game very much played in the mind and there are some things you learn only through experience. It gives a player the opportunity to analyse mistakes, analyse his shots but this experience comes in the passage of time and doing the hard yards and you mature accordingly.

I feel that I'm at my peak as a batsman. In fact I'm actually getting better which suggests I have a lot more to offer. I am very aware of the importance of maintaining high levels of fitness – if you are not fit then you cannot perform and I am very careful in managing my health and fitness. If you are fit, age doesn't matter.


PakPassion.net: You must be motivated by the likes of Misbah ul Haq and Younis Khan, who are showing experience is a highly prized asset at the international level?

Mohammad Ayub Dogar: Misbah and Younis have proven that age is not a barrier, and their performances show they are continuing to do so. There are numerous other examples too – Mohammad Hafeez, Sachin Tendulkar, Kumar Sangakkara, Mahela Jayawardene – there are lots of players who are well over 30 and are performing with consistency and very well too.


PakPassion.net: Touring Sri Lanka in June and July will certainly provide challenging playing conditions. The heat and humidity will be difficult, are you prepared for that?

Mohammad Ayub Dogar: It will undoubtedly be difficult, but we will prepare hard to make sure we are not unduly affected and fully prepared to perform our best. Playing in Pakistan in domestic cricket also provides you with challenging conditions, so hopefully we should be able to cope with the conditions.


PakPassion.net: You have the camp coming up at the National Cricket Academy in Lahore. Are you looking forward to working with Julien Fountain and Dav Whatmore?

Mohammad Ayub Dogar: Dav Whatmore and Julien Fountain have brought a fresh approach to Pakistani cricket. They have told the selectors to look at who is performing, assessed their ability and then decided who should be selected, also focussing on the type of player. If he's a T20 specialist, Test player or ODI player and provided good advice to all concerned. 

If you look at the squads, ignoring any history, there isn't one player who has been selected who currently isn't performing well domestically so it is a meritocratic approach.


PakPassion.net: Thanks Ayub, best wishes for the future and good look in Sri Lanka. 

Mohammad Ayub Dogar: Thanks for the kind wishes.

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