NEWS
COLUMNS
INTERVIEWS
SCHEDULES

The Rediff Interview/ Asif Iqbal

'At the moment the Pakistan cricket selection board needs to be looked into'

Asif Iqbal is the man credited with taking cricket to the Gulf. Almost two decades ago, he and Sheikh Abdul Rehman Bukhatir organised a one-off cricket match between India and Pakistan, under the auspices of the Cricketers Benefit Fund Series, on artificial turf at the Sharjah cricket ground in the oil-rich United Arab Emirates.

Thanks to Iqbal's tireless efforts, cricket today flourishes in the region and Sharjah has seen 154 one-day internationals featuring the cream of the cricket world.

The stylish former Pakistan and Kent batsman, who played 58 Tests and scored 3,575 runs including 11 hundreds, was in Bombay recently. Faisal Shariff spoke to him about the state of the game in Pakistan and India.

How would you reflect on Pakistan cricket right now?

I am a bit disappointed as far as the changes that were made in the team, for the simple reason that the team that went to Australia was our best team. That was the team that got Pakistan into the finals. And that is the team that performed exceptionally well for the past few years, but when they went to Australia.

I think at the moment, without any doubt in anybody's mind, that Australia is the best team in the world. Not only did they beat Pakistan convincingly, they also beat India the same way. But that doesn't mean that the Indian and Pakistani teams are weaker sides. And you can see that India has given a very good performance against South Africa.

I would have liked to see Pakistan not making the number of changes they have made, because our best players went there and played against the best and they didn't perform well. So they have not performed well because of lack of performance; they have also lost the confidence that they had gained for the past 18 months. So it was important that that team was given a home series against Sri Lanka to build their confidence, so that they can get back the confidence and start performing again.

It is all very well to say that we are building the side for the World Cup, but the World Cup is still 3, 4 years ahead. And I think the players, like Inzamam, for instance, is an outstanding player; he didn't perform well, fine. Neither did many others. I would have liked to see those players get the opportunity to play at home. Not just because of any other reason but because I feel that playing at home against Sri Lanka has got their confidence back and they have been in a better frame of mind to perform.

For lack of words I used upset, but the thing which is upsetting is the players who are selected in place of those who are dropped. Unfortunately, they didn't come up to the expectations and I am sure there is talent; there is no doubt about it. Slowly you groom them along with the experienced ones. It is better than pitching all of them together. And not having experienced players and the results, I don't have to speak much about the results myself.

The example that comes to mind is of England. When England went to the West Indies, they were thrashed. They were bowled out for 40-odd in one Test and they had youngsters like Mark Ramprakash and Thorpe, and there were quite a few youngsters in that team. They came back and they were playing a home series against New Zealand and all those players who went to the West Indies and didn't perform against the best of the West Indies, they were all sacked. New players were given a chance and I think till today England are struggling to build a new team.

If you compare that with India, it has not made so many changes in the team.

I think they did the right thing. I think India is doing exactly the right thing by making sure that they are not sacking players of the calibre of Dravid and Ganguly because they didn't perform in Australia. But I think there is a section of players who have got quality and talent together. I think that needs to be given confidence. And that confidence can be only given when they are playing at home. Maybe, they're not a poor side, but certainly, even if it was Australia playing against Pakistan in Pakistan, I would given these guys a chance because they have their home advantage.

I think at the moment the Pakistan cricket selection board needs to be looked into and I sincerely hope that they make those changes in the Test series. I mean people like Wajahat Wasti and Shahid Afridi, for instance, are the one-day players who are not in the squad. Wasti is a youngster; Afridi is a youngster; Mohammad Wasim is a youngster.

Every time Wasim Akram has led the team Pakistan has played together as a unit and they have fought. Do you think Wasim should have stepped down as captain?

No, definitely not. I think, as reported that he opted to give up the captaincy, the Pakistani selectors and the board would have done the right thing by insisting on Wasim continuing and saying that 'look you have got a couple of years at the most and we want you to lead the side so that the captain, who is going to take over, has got a team which is full of confidence, rather than a team which is with so many changes, not being at a higher level of confidence'.

So I would have insisted that Wasim continue as captain. And with him as captain, and his players being secure in the team, I think whoever it was would have been groomed for the captaincy. I would have liked Moin Khan to be the vice-captain to take over just, maybe, a couple of years before the World Cup.

But there were reports that Moin had been asked by Wasim in Australia itself to take over the captaincy after returning to Pakistan. What is the reason for his reluctance to captain the side?

No, I had no idea about this. I'll be very surprised, knowing Moin the player, that he is a fighter, and you know he loves challenges. So to me he would have been the right choice. But I think Saeed Anwar was the captain of Pakistan once before and I think he opted out. In fact, he is the one who said he didn't want the captaincy. So when you want to try somebody and if he is not ready, and he gives it up on his own choice, then I think it is a bit hard on him to give it back to him.

There is speculation that this is probably the Qayyum commission's decision that is being implemented; the first part is that Wasim would step down...

I have no idea. I don't know anything about it, so I can't comment on it.

What was the Pakistan team lacking in Australia?

Nothing, they went to Australia and they were beaten by a thoroughly committed, professional and mentally tough side than Pakistan. Nothing is wrong with Pakistan cricket. They got into the finals of the World Cup, if we forget about that, and they are the second best team in the world. And the people don't talk about that. Then you have also forgotten about the past 18 months. They have beaten India in India; they are the Asian champions, they have won the Test championship in India. So I don't know why people think that the are not doing well.

I mean they went to Australia and they lost to Australia. I mean Australia is the best side in the world. But now that they have made this wholesome changes and they have lost to Sri Lanka 3-0 at home, I think it is time to seriously start taking notice of what is wrong.

Are you happy with the domestic infrastructure in Pakistan?

It is the same domestic infrastructure which brought Pakistan the World Championship; with which they won the World Cup in Australia, the same structure that got Pakistan to the final of the World Cup in England last year.

Is Pakistan going to depend on great captains with an eye for talent to pick players out of the nets, like Waqar, Wasim and Aaqib were picked ?

Unless and until something has failed, there is no reason to change. Change for the sake of change is not going to bring you glory. It must be for the development of the game and for the game to flourish. And the way it is being flourished -- you can see it being played on the streets, in the maidans everywhere. And no matter how the selection process is, as long as we are producing the players it is fine.

The only thing that I would add to that is that if you have this sort of talent, raw talent, then you need an academy, more than say Australia or South Africa. We need it more, both India and Pakistan. Because we have tremendous talent and that academy is going to help in making absolutely sure that talent is chiseled properly and the best is got out.

When Wasim Akram came back he said Pakistan should have more sporting wickets. What is your take on that?

I don't know. Then we are talking about going to Australia and beating Australia, going to South Africa and beating South Africa, and not being satisfied playing at home and winning. Because if South Africa comes here now and if they loose on a slow turner I am sure they are not going to complain that it is because of the wickets they have lost. I don't think they will; they will just say that the Indians are better players under these conditions. And I think it is a challenge for every country to whichever country they go to.

We are not really saying because we are Australians we need bouncy wickets wherever we go. That's where we perform best. No, that's not the idea. The idea of Test cricket is, wherever it's played, to conquer the local conditions. Like the Australians said they beat Pakistan in Pakistan. So that's a big achievement. In the Pakistani conditions they beat Pakistan. So that is a big achievement. So if Pakistan goes to Australia and beats Australia in Australia under those conditions it is a big achievement. But if you don't it is not the end of the cricketing world; it's not.

So you subscribe staunchly to the home advantage?

Yes, I do.

Are you trying to say that there should be no uniformity?

It would become very boring. If the uniformity gets into preparation of wickets then you are going to get all over the world the same type of wickets. I think it'll become monotonous. Because then there is nothing; because players perform under a particular type of wicket which is everywhere. Then I think that the charm will be lost.

PART II:
'Cricketers are professionals and they have to learn to play on any surface that is given to them'

Interviews