THE Pakistan Cricket Board’s (PCB) National Junior Selection Committee recently announced the squad for ACC Youth Under-19 World Cup to be played in Sri Lanka later this month. Abdul Rehman – a well-respected figure in the country’s cricketing circles – will accompany the team as the assistant coach.

The 46-year-old also coached his native Peshawar Region in the ongoing Quaid-i-Azam Trophy National Cricket Championship. During one of the preliminary-round matches, he took out time to share his thoughts on various topics of relevance.

Elaborating on the reasons of his team’s mediocre performance in the tournament, he says “we (the regions) work hard throughout the year to develop players, but once they are ready, departments recruit them. I am in favour of regions and departments playing separately; this will enable the regions to field their best players thereby ensuring better quality of cricket. In the current scenario, the regions struggle to find a balanced combination.”

There seems some weight in Rehman’s argument as seven out of the eight to have qualified for the Super Eights this year are from the departments.

The phenomenon of players making their way through the regional teams to departments in pursuit of better financial rewards is one that affects all the regions.

Asked whether it is possible for the regional associations to take care of the financial interests of the local talent thereby preventing it from signing away with the departments, Rehman said: “It is possible but no effort has yet been made to market our domestic first-class cricket or develop it as a brand. There is limited awareness among cricket fans and almost no TV coverage of these matches. Hence even the sponsors are wary of putting their money behind it.”

Rehman, who has monitored the progress of various Test players including Yasir Shah, Mohammad Rizwan, Iftikhar Ahmed among others during their initial years in domestic cricket, strongly believes in having a robust infrastructure at the grassroots level. “I strongly believe in investing in schools cricket as it gives all youngsters a chance to play. The PCB is already doing a lot at the under-16, under-19 and first-class level but the government also has to shoulder some of the responsibility.”

“There needs to be a comprehensive sports policy where only the school-going kids can be selected for the under-16 teams. We have several private schools charging hefty fees from the students; it should be made mandatory for these schools to adopt and maintain grounds, organise sporting events and appoint coaches.”

“There are so many qualified Level-1 and Level-2 coaches who are currently sitting idle; their services can be utilised by these schools. Even the PCB should direct its investment towards schools and college cricket. The objective is not to make superstars at this level but to develop a culture where every child has an opportunity to play. At the school level, the kids should be encouraged to play all kind of sports like cricket, football, table tennis, squash etc. Once they are in college, they can choose to pursue the one they are good at.”

The former first-class cricketer also acts as the manager of the high-profile Peshawar Zalmi outfit in the Pakistan Super League (PSL).

Commenting on the league’s positives, he remarked “the attitude of the players has improved; the quality of cricket has gone up. The youngsters have started to work harder.”

“There is money involved. Previously, there was only the national team that they were working hard to get into where only 2-3 places open up every year. Now they have PSL as an incentive too. The franchises have started to work towards talent hunt at the grassroots level. They should also work with schools and colleges, spot talented youngsters, adopt them, take care of them and own them till the time they are ready to represent the franchise at the highest level. The franchises can even work with schools to maintain their grounds, organize matches and make the star players practice at these grounds.”

On Pakistan’s recent surge to the top of the International Cricket Council (ICC) Test rankings, Rehman offers a realistic view. “We have a settled team at present but the real challenge is to develop a team for the future and prepare suitable replacements. There is a wide gap between domestic and international cricket in terms of quality which means the players learn most of their cricket once they are in the national team.

“Ideally, a new player should be able to perform better than the one he is replacing. The resumption of ‘A’ Team tours is expected to help in this regard as these tours provide good preparation and exposure to the youngsters”.

The bearded Rehman who himself is a qualified Level-4 coach, suggests a simple and uncomplicated way to approach the limited-overs version where the national team has struggled of late. “At a young age, the batsmen are mainly trained to develop a tight defence, bat and pad together. This does not allow them to develop a high back lift thus hampering their shot-making ability. In my opinion, a player having natural flair should be encouraged to bat freely.”

Despite having played a significant role in transforming Peshawar Region into a feared outfit at the domestic level, Rehman plays down the importance of the coach’s role. “The coach does not have a magic wand. He can only bring to the table his principles, ideas or techniques that help improve the energy levels and the motivation of the players. However, there are systems in place that help and then there is the team’s own momentum as well. A coach cannot and should not take too much credit.”

Abdul Rehman has previously also successfully coached Pakistan ‘A’ teams against West Indies ‘A’, Australia and New Zealand but remains humble when asked if he harbours hopes of coaching the national senior team one day. “I will apply for the job when I think I’m ready” was his brief reply.

Email: syed.mustafa@hotmail.com

Twitter: @MustafaFairplay

Published in Dawn, December 3rd, 2016