In his playing days, Waqar Younis was regarded as one of the most lethal bowlers of his era; someone who always meant business and there was never a dull moment with a ball in his hand.
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Even the best in the business were floored and brought down on their knees when Waqar was reversing the ball like a banana, with his slinging arm action firing down the delivery and the ball cutting through the air ferociously.
Not many survived against him when he was at his peak of his powers and the former fast bowler is now showing a similar ruthless streak as he takes the driving seat as head coach of Pakistani cricket.
Waqar’s tour report of the World Cup has played a major part in prompting Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) to take action, with major changes having taken place to the squad.
Misbah-ul-Haq and Shahid Afridi have bowed out of the ODI formats, while Nasir Jamshed and Umar Akmal have been dropped from all formats for tour of Bangladesh.
Waqar Younis “Selectors did what they deemed best. In the upcoming series you’ll see that the new players will be oozing with team spirit”
— Saj Sadiq (@Saj_PakPassion) April 10, 2015
Younis Khan has been rested in ODIs, while Ahmed Shahzad has been selected solely for a T20 outing despite being Pakistan’s top run-getter in T20s and ODIs in 2014. He also contributed significantly in the Test format as well.
Shahzad and Akmal have been shown the door due to their perceived poor attitude and, according to the leaked report, Waqar is insisting both players be left out of the side for as much as a year. In addition, Mohammad Irfan and Sohaib Maqsood have been ruled out due to injury.
“There is a new era in Pakistan as new blood has been inducted and I’m hopeful that these young guns would do well in years to come. The changes have been brought in looking forward to next four or five years,” Waqar said.
Rookies Sami Aslam, Babar Azam, Mohammad Rizwan have been brought in while Asad Shafiq, Azhar Ali and Fawad Alam have been recalled to the one-day side for the upcoming fixtures.
“I’ve always said that talent is always there and it had always been about getting the opportunity at international level. Now these players have got the opportunity and hopefully they will take it,” he added.
When asked whether he is happy that PCB have shown the door to likes of Shahzad and Akmal based on his report, Waqar said that it is surprising for him that his secret report has came out in public. However, he confirmed that he voiced his reservations to the board and that the PCB has acted upon a few of the suggestions.
“The most important thing for Pakistan is to have players with correct attitude and, if that is not there, then we don’t need such players in the team,” Waqar explained.
“The cricket is changing quickly, players need to be fit, work on their fielding and if we don’t do that, we would get behind in international. It’s pleasing to see PCB atleast taking the measures for improvement.”
When he was reminded of Shahzad’s century in his last Test innings, Waqar insisted he was aware of the batsman’s ability but stressed that Pakistan must move on and build with new players
“You got to move on otherwise we would lose out in the race. In few previous world cups, we made mistake by not indulging new players in a timely manner,” he said.
“As far as Misbah and Younis are concerned, they are great players for Pakistan and they will continue serving Pakistan in Test cricket.
“Moving forward we’ve got Azhar Ali who has got a big opportunity. He is a really smart captain and a humble person, so there will be a big difference because of his captaincy on the team. Sami Aslam and Babar Azam are both talented players so hopefully they will do well.”
Azhar Ali still untested as an int captain but he gives that vibe of confidence & sounds like a very clever man. Only time will tell.
— Rehan Ulhaq (@Rehan_ulhaq) April 12, 2015
The former captain has been criticized back in Pakistan for his harsh attitude with the players, with ex-players including Abdur Razzaq, Mohammed Yousuf and Shoaib Akhtar publicly saying that Waqar ahas an agenda of getting rid of senior players in order to have greater control on the team.
Asked about that criticism, Waqar replied that those who are making such claims can answer whether I am strict with the players or not.
“I’ve always played for Pakistan and now I am trying to improve the team according to my vision, whether people like it or not,” Waqar hit back.
Waqar did show support for his side’s bowling attack, with Rahat Ali and Wahab Riaz’s performances pleasing him at the recent Cricket World Cup. However, he insisted there is need for work if Pakistani cricket is to improve.
“Pakistan have always had the privilege of having a good pace battery. Fast-bowlers continue to emerge in Pakistan and all five who went with the team in World Cup were superb,” he complimented.
“There is a need to invest in U19, A team, domestic cricket and stadiums as well so that when international cricket returns we do not miss out. Hopefully new players would be inducted in A team and they would be monitored closely.”
Waqar played 87 Test matches for Pakistan and picked up 373 wickets in his career, although it could have been more had his fractious relationship with Wasim Akram not seen him left out of the side for long periods at the height of his career. He also bagged 416 wickets in just 262 One-Day Internationals (ODIs) in a 15-year career.
With Bangladesh a potentially dangerous opponent, Waqar insists Pakistan will not take their opponents lightly.
“It’s going to be a tough series with Bangladesh because they have come up as a very fine side. We can’t take them easy at any cost. We’ve got a young side so our energy will be different. I can’t make tall claims as I don’t want to put pressure on younger players but they can certainly do their job well,” Waqar said.
“You will see a lot of team spirit on the tour. Players need to understand that only 15 people get selected from 190-200 million so they got to play for country and that star on the kit. When the cross the rope, then they should give away everything and there shouldn’t be any compromise.”
Pakistan will also welcome back ace off-spinner Saeed Ajmal after a eight-month ban which forced him to miss the World Cup. Waqar appreciated the effort of Ajmal has put in to prove many people wrong.
“We must praise Ajmal about he has shown his approach in last eight months. He deserve respect and he is looking good from I’ve seen so far,” he concluded.
“He hasn’t played a lot of cricket and we are taking him to Bangladesh to see him where he stands right now and hopefully he will be successful to make a strong come back.”
