"South African players want to learn, which was totally different to the environment amongst the Pakistani players": Yasir Arafat

In our latest exclusive, Saj catches up with former Pakistan all-rounder, ECB Level 4 coach, and South Africa’s high-performance coach, Yasir Arafat. With a rare perspective coaching elite teams across the world, Yasir offers a deeply insightful take on Pakistan cricket — its decline, its cultural stagnation, and the roadmap for revival. He also contrasts the mindset and structure of Pakistan’s setup with that of South Africa's, shedding light on how hungry the Proteas players are to improve their game.

By Saj Sadiq (March 24, 2025)

Key highlights include:

From ball picker to high-performance coach: "It's one of my proudest achievements."

Chronic mismanagement at the PCB: "Pakistan deserves such results."

Stagnant skills vs. South Africa’s hunger to improve: “Our players’ mindset has stopped at one place.”

Instability ruining player development: “Domestic structure changes every season.”

Ignored feedback and internal reports: “Hafeez’s report was thrown in the dustbin.”

Fitness issues and global rejection: “No Pakistani player picked in global leagues.”

Lessons from more consistent setups: “Teams like New Zealand succeed due to consistency.”

Watch the full interview here:

https://youtu.be/ET2OLJ3Tmbk?si=jltSuLuPHc2gm1uJ

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