The fit-as-ever Aaqib Javed (in the right foreground), trains with the Pakistan team at Colin Maiden Park on December 21, 2010 in Auckland when he was the assistant coach of the side © Getty Images
The former Pakistan fast bowler and ex-national bowling coach Aaqib Javed is currently employed as coach of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) team on a three-year contract.
Aaqib represented Pakistan in 22 Test matches, picking up 54 wickets. A World Cup winner, he took 182 wickets from 163 One-Day Internationals. After his retirement, he has held a range of coaching positions, including roles at the Lahore Regional Academy and the National Academy as well as coach of the national team. His most recent stint with the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) ended in February 2012 when his contract as Pakistan’s bowling coach was not renewed at his own request.
Aside from honing his skills as part of the formidable bowling unit which was lead by the now-legendary partnership of Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis, Aaqib Javed has worked closely with Pakistan’s young fast bowlers. He therefore is well-positioned to judge the potential of, and challenges faced by, the nation’s top fast bowling talent.
In an exclusive interview with PakPassion.net’s Saj Sadiq, Aaqib spoke about the state of Pakistan’s current crop of fast bowlers as well as those to keep an eye on in the future.
Umar Gul his inconsistency and form are worrying; his place in the side is under threat © Getty Images
Gul has always been a bowler who is good in phases. He lacks consistency, something he should have achieved by now. He is one of those bowlers who relies on rhythm. When he’s in good rhythm he bowl terrific spells, but when he’s not in rhythm he can be a liability. He’s not as dependable as he should be.
His lack of development and inability to master the art of bowling with the new ball has been frustrating. On one of his good days he can be outstanding with the old ball, but for a pace bowler you have to have the ability and skillset to be able to attack the opposition with the new ball and Gul has been found lacking in that area.
At the moment he would be my third choice pace bowler in all formats, after Junaid Khan and Mohammad Irfan. Give him the older ball and simply ask him to bowl fast and straight. I don’t think he should be dropped in any of the formats as yet, but his form is a concern and he should be looking over his shoulder as his place is definitely under threat. It’s not an easy task for the captain, having a bowler in the side whose consistency you are unsure of and one who is not very effective with the new ball. It makes the captain’s job more difficult when you have an inconsistent bowler in the team.
I’d put Gul on a par with the likes of Steve Harmison, Mitchell Johnson and Wahab Riaz — all bowlers who have or had the ability to bowl well when conditions are in their favour, but lack that cutting edge when conditions are against them. Gul’s biggest problem has been that he has not been able to adapt to various conditions and sometimes to the match situation. He is an experienced bowler and it’s disappointing that he’s not been able to utilise his experience and adapt to unfavourable conditions over the years. I think he’s underachieved and he should have taken a leaf out of Waqar Younis’s book with respect to bowling style. When Waqar lost that yard of pace he adapted his bowling by working on the outswinger and becoming a better bowler with the new ball, rather than just relying upon the inswinger and being effective with the old ball.
He clocks around 145 kmph. And with his steep bounce and seam movement and the ability to swing the ball, makes Mohammad Irfan is a tough proposition for any batsman on any surface © Getty Images
I was delighted to see Irfan bowling in South Africa with aggression and venom. He’s a very humble man, someone who I got to know very well at the National Cricket Academy (NCA) when I worked with him. Aggression does not come naturally to him but it’s something that has to be part of his bowling armory.
When Irfan came to the National Cricket Academy, I literally jumped for joy when I watched him bowling for the first time. I knew we had found something special. Admittedly his body was weak, technically he was poor, but the basics were there. And even without proper coaching he was clocking around 135 kmph. Naturally I was very excited at what I saw and I said to Irfan that he does not need to worry about how fast he bowls as he has the height, and providing he puts the ball often enough in the right areas he will take bucket loads of wickets.
Irfan deserves a lot of credit for the hard work he has put in since coming to the NCA. If only some other more talented Pakistani bowlers over the years had put in the hard work Irfan has, they would have achieved a lot more in cricket.
I think Irfan should be selected in all three formats as he has the skills to adjust his bowling as per the requirements of each format. He gives the Pakistan team something different, something that we’ve not really had for many years as most of our bowlers are shorter, skiddy bowlers who don’t hit the wicket hard, rather rely upon pace and swing. Having that variety with Irfan has really given the Pakistan bowing attack an additional dimension.
It’s very difficult to predict how many years of cricket he has in him, but there is no doubt that he will always give 100% effort whenever the captain throws the ball to him. Even when he was at the NCA there was never a session when he never gave his all. It’s not in Irfan’s nature to do something half-heartedly. He’s clocking around 145 kmph these days and that, on top of the extra bounce and seam movement and the ability to swing the ball, makes Irfan a tough proposition for any batsman on any surface.
I place Irfan in the category of an impact bowler in Test cricket. He should bowl short and sharp bursts rather than long spells. I know it’s tempting for a captain to keep him bowling when he’s in good rhythm but in Test cricket. Misbah-u-Haq should realise that Irfan is more effective in three or four-over hostile spells. Using Irfan in shorter bursts will prolong his Test career and the think-tank has to realise that Irfan has to be managed carefully.
The problem with Wahab Riaz is that he has poor levels of concentration and he cannot cope with the pressure of top-level cricket © Getty Images
I’ve been disappointed with how Wahab’s international career has developed. I had high hopes for Wahab and I still do, but he’s not achieved what I expected he would. The problem with Wahab is that he has poor levels of concentration and he cannot cope with the pressure of top-level cricket. When you are playing international cricket, in those high profile matches you have to concentrate on every delivery. As an international cricketer you have to maintain that balance of adrenalin — being pumped up — but also at the same time being calm and focused. Wahab, I feel, gets overexcited. He has to do a lot of work on the mental side of the game, which I feel is his weakness.
He has everything that a fast bowler needs. He has pace, he has a strong body and he has cricketing skills, but he needs to work on the mental aspects of cricket, self control and emotional control; these are all things that only he can work on, nobody can help him with these weaknesses, it’s down to him. You have team mates and coaching staff around you, but when that ball is in your hand, it’s just you against the batsman. I’ve always had high hopes for Wahab but he’s not delivered and it’s about time that he started to achieve what he is capable of. He’s wasting his talent.
The first time I saw Junaid he was playing for Pakistan’s Under 19s and I wasn’t overly impressed. He was totally reliant upon moving the ball away from the right-handed batsman and his action was very different to what it is now.
I worked with Junaid at the NCA for three months after he had sustained a serious injury and we started to work on bringing the ball back into the right-handers. He’s a very quick learner, very keen to progress and improve and he is a cricketer that I hold in very high regard. He has great potential and I think he’s already amongst the best seam bowlers in the world.
My only piece of advice to Junaid would be to remember that he is not an out and out ‘bang-the- ball-into-the-wicket’ type of bowler. Sometimes when he starts to bowl too short he becomes unstuck and loses his way. He is at his best when he’s bowling that length of uncertainty, very much like Mohammad Asif used to. Junaid has the ability to move the ball both ways and when he is pitching the ball in the right areas, the batsmen are guessing and look uneasy against him and that is when Junaid can be most effective.
Junaid Khan has the potential to be a great for Pakistan as long as he remembers what his strengths are and doesn t try to alter his approach to his bowling and ensures he keeps on bowling that length his style of bowling is suited to © Getty Images
I’m delighted with the progress Junaid has made and it’s a delight to watch someone as gifted as him in action. He has the potential to be a great for Pakistan as long as he remembers what his strengths are and doesn’t try to alter his approach to his bowling and ensures he keeps on bowling that length his style of bowling is suited to.
His strength is that he swings the ball late, but he needs to work on his fitness levels. The modern demands of cricket mean that fast bowlers have to be good athletes too and I worry about Rahat’s fitness levels at the moment, particularly his legs. He needs to work on his conditioning and his strengthening and if he does that we’ll see a better bowler.
He has potential, he has the basics, but if he wants to break his way into the starting line-up then he definitely needs to work on his fitness.
Rushing Ehsan Adil into Test cricket after one good domestic season was not a great idea © Getty Images
I worked with Ehsan at some of the training camps and I still have the same feeling that I had about him back then — that he has the potential to be an all-rounder. I said to him that he can become a genuine all-rounder, as he is very useful with the bat. I’m not as yet convinced that he is a front line bowler, particularly in the five-day format. I think it was a mistake to call him up to the Test side in South Africa as it’s too early in his career for him to be playing Test cricket, although I think he deserves a place in the current Pakistan one-day side.
The selectors need to ensure that young cricketers are given opportunities but it has to be at the right time and when they are ready. I feel that rushing Ehsan into Test cricket after one good domestic season was not a great idea. Give him some time to mature and I would like to see Ehsan become a regular in the one-day side, rather than in the Test team at the moment.
I spent some time with Zia at the NCA and he seemed very keen to learn. He’s made a lot of progress in a short space of time and I suggested to him that it’s unlikely that he will be an out-and-out pace bowler. Rather, he should look at someone like Junaid Khan as a role model and try to emulate his style of bowler. He should be more reliant upon hitting the right lengths and swinging the ball both ways. He’s of a similar height to Junaid and I think providing he keeps working on his bowling, particularly his ability to bring the ball back into the right handed batsmen, there is every chance that he could play for Pakistan in the future. I would urge his coaches to not try and turn him into a ‘bang-the-ball-into-the-deck’ type of bowler, rather focus on his strengths and his ability to swing the ball.
(Saj Sadiq is Senior Editor at PakPassion.net, from where the above article has been reproduced. He can be followed on Twitter at @Saj_PakPassion)
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