Chief Selector Aamer Sohail tries to defend all that he stands for
AAMER Sohail has always been a difficult man to pin down, whether as opening batsman, commentator or selector. Uncomplicated, he hits hard with his opinions and candidness as he did with his bat. He has always been brazenly patriotic and self assertive, not least of it in the commentary box, where he will give no allowance for reputation if he disagrees with an analysis by his colleague. This always comes out prominently when he feels that a justifiable decision in favour of Pakistan is being unreasonably questioned.
Yet one of his consistent criticisms is that he is engaging in conflict of interest by commenting while being the chief selector. Another is that he has tried too many too soon and dumped them too early. There has been the issue of dropping Younis Khan and also bringing back Moin after almost three years.
During the opening day of the first Test, he spoke on some of these issues from his office overlooking the lush outfield of Gaddafi Stadium where Mark Boucher was guiding South Africa towards the 300 mark.
His justifications for trying so many new players have been reported ad nauseum. In brief he stressed that he had the task of replacing at least six positions for which the selectors had to try at least two for each position at a time when too many choices had gathered over the past three years.
“Our other problem was that Pakistan had not undertaken ‘A’ tours of any country which had not allowed any potential cricketer to be seen at the international level. We therefore used the Bangladesh series to try out as many cricketers as we could. A lot of youngsters therefore made their debut. As I said we had to look for the future, not just the present.
“We have therefore tried about eight players in the four Tests including this first Test against South Africa. And in this Test a change was forced on us because Inzamam became unfit, and others including Younis Khan, were not in form or lacking in technique.
“Still, Asim Kamal is a great prospect,” stressed the chief selector. “He’s a mature player. His defensive technique is very good. He knows how to stay at the wicket. He has come up through a system having played four or five seasons. He knows how to get the best out of every situation. We now want to give him an opportunity to prove his temperament and strength of character.”
He was to be proved right as the left hander made a heroic 99 on Test debut, proving himself on all counts.
I asked Aamer what have been his challenges and his immediate objectives as chief selector.
“When this assignment was given to me after the World Cup, Pakistan cricket was visibly in bad shape,” began Aamer and pointed out that in fact, Pakistan had been losing even at home for quite some time. “In my view people in Pakistan cannot tolerate defeat. So we had to ensure that we did not lose while rebuilding. As such the selection policy was that you had to drag the present while hunting for the future, even if it had to be one by one.”
In the days following the mayhem of the World Cup where everyone was managing everyone else’s authority, job descriptions were prepared outlining circles of control. These also limited authority of each key executive handling the team selection at various phases. The captain has no choice but to choose from the sixteen and the selector has to hope that the captain understands how to use the player he has recommended.
This has led to friction among the chief selector, coach and captain on several occasions, often publicly. Does he think it is time that some authority is shared whereby coach and captain have a say in the shortlisted players and the selector voting rights for the final eleven?
“I think it’s very much required,” he admitted. “We always take everyone’s point of view when we are exploring options but I think it will be a very good idea if we start interacting formally. We must put every long term and short term plan on the table with each other about every player we consider. What his role can be against various teams when he plays.”
But he insists that the captain’s and coaches input already plays a part, maybe informally, in shortlisting a squad. “The day we took over, the consent of the captain and the coach has been most important. Our job is to give them the best players. They have to field the boys and they have to get the best out of them. Every time they have asked us for a certain player we have never raised any kind of objection.”
Does he agree that he should be part of the committee that selects the final eleven and the coach and captain should be involved in short listing the players?
“Exactly. And also I think it’ll be a huge bonus for Pakistan’s cricket if we start working on a game plan together.”
I pointed out to him that almost everywhere, it is the selectors who pick a captain, but here it is the cricket board that appoints one. Does he think the time has arrived for the selectors to be independent in naming the captain of their choice?
“Look, we have always been asked our opinion as to who should be the captain of the Pakistani team. This practice has always been carried out. But the captain has to be announced by the cricket board anyway. The selection committee always plays a role in selecting the captain. They always take our consent about a proposed leader’s abilities. It is an open discussion and we are asked why we are for or against an appointment.
“But as in most cases, when you are sitting in an office, the final decision has to be the chairman of the cricket board.”
I brought up the decision to drop Younis Khan for the Test match. Was that a tough choice?
“The reason we dropped him is that he hasn’t improved,” said Aamer, indicating clearly he had been at ease over the choice. “He hasn’t taken a further step forward in his international career. He hasn’t scored a hundred in One-Day Internationals. And you can’t say he bats lower down all the time because he has been given a chance at No 3, 4 and 5. If you talk about experience, he has played some 96 games and he hasn’t made a difference in so many games.”
“We kept him in the side even as the youngsters did the job for Pakistan. Still we played him to give them the feeling that there is a bit of experience if they falter, they’ll carry the batting. But we haven’t seen consistent performances from him.”
If he feels experience is not everything, why bring back Moin Khan when Kamran Akmal has been quite a success both as wicketkeeper and batsman?
“We spoke with the coach and the Pakistan captain (Inzamam, not Youhana). He was very comfortable with Moin. And the reason we gave Kamran Akmal in the same squad was that the captain on the morning of the match could have his pick. If he thought Moin in his present form was good enough to play for Pakistan, then pick him, otherwise you got as youngster and he needs a bit of grooming. It’s now their judgment from hereon who they should be playing. As you can see, they opted for Moin.”
Aamer also feels that the media should take greater responsibility. He claims that the media takes a quote and blows it out of all proportions. He admits to speaking out his observations but reiterates that it is not intended to target anybody. But more than that, his biggest gripe is that he often reads in the newspapers words attributed to him that he contends he never said. Difficult to believe that, but that is what he truly contends.
“And even if I have said something, it can always have two meanings,” he feels, perhaps implying that a glass can be described as half full or half empty. Of course, that may be a defence mechanism taking root inside him and every person has the right to believe that only he understands himself. Yet some comments on lack of progress in coaching have come out live on television and he cannot deny them. If he wants time for selection he needs to be patient with those who have to correct techniques, which is a far longer process than finding a middle order batsman.
I pointed out to him that despite the best of intentions he may have, there have been instances where he has been quite critical of player’s techniques and has bemoaned the lack of progress at times. Is the problem being aggravated because he’s speaking out his thought live on television rather than one to one with the coach behind closed doors?
He feels it doesn’t cause any problems because he’s just describing the players and if he didn’t point it out somebody else would. “In fact most of the players come to me and ask me to explain further what I said on TV about them.”
He goes on to claim that: “On a number of occasions they have taken us to the nets and asked us to rectify their faults. And having played the game it’s our obligation to help out everybody. I don’t see any reason for the players to get a negative energy about it. We have the luxury of watching the players on replay so it’s very easy for us to pinpoint problems.”
True, but you don’t have to be a commentator to do that via television. You can do it as a spectator. It does after all give the world an inside view of the team management and the opposition can read into where disagreements are taking place within the side and possibly play to them.
But Aamer doesn’t think so and contests the notion among his critics that nowhere in the world do selectors take to the microphones and comment live on TV. He points to some well known figures in cricket who have been commentators while they have been selectors, and claims that Dean Jones has said on TV that their selectors commentate as well.
He points out: “There was South Africa’s Mike Proctor, and Allan Border, who were commentating while they were selectors. Also Pat Symcox, and that was as recent as this year’s World Cup.
“People have to realize that I’ve been given an assignment by the cricket board,” he says coming on to the front foot on the issue. “Banking and commentary is my career basically. It is my job.”
Aamer then goes on to elaborate: “There is a huge difference between assignment and a job. I am doing my assignment but at the same time I have to do my job. If I sit in the commentary box I have to narrate over the picture shown to me. At times it can get critical. It only happens when somebody asks you a question about alternatives. If I say something to save my place it’ll never reflect well on me. I have to be honest to my job and honest to my assignment at the same time.”
He believes he is doing that in all honesty and there is no conflict of interest. That remains his point of view and no one can change it.
Aamer is a man who has been under tremendous pressure. Selectors have a task that every man thinks he can do better. In the aftermath of the World Cup it was a lose-lose situation for not just him but Rashid and Javed Miandad also. The country was split between who was responsible, the players or the PCB? Aamer therefore not just had to keep the seniors at a distance but also had to pick the young men who would have to rebuild. In such situations it is like the architect being asked to build a sky scraper on the beach. The selectors have now to smell one’s way through the quagmire of nepotism and other outside pressures. And being human they also make serious errors in judgment while shortlisting for matches. They will also accommodate some requests, hoping that these will get knocked out once in the middle.
His cry after six months in the job is therefore: “Have faith in us. We are trying our best to revive Pakistan cricket. For me, personally, I feel I owe the nation. Pakistan cricket has given me so much in terms of recognition, money, fame and a standing in society. I can’t be unfaithful to Pakistan cricket. It hurts when the Pakistan cricket team doesn’t perform well. It hurts especially in the commentary box with different people from all over the world sitting around you. Because I am a proud Pakistani and in the days when I played we won almost everything.”
For Pakistan to do that again, Aamer will have to dig deep down and see what is frustrating fellow men-in-arms like Javed Miandad and Rashid Latif. The first brought him into cricket and the other has steadfastly supported him in the worst of times. If Pakistan team is winning again, it is because of the stability and guidance that they too have given the PCB and the nation. For Pakistan to win again, in fact to avoid the atmosphere of the last three years, he must go back to them again. He may not realize it, but it is appearing to be the return of the clones.
Chief Selector Aamer Sohail tries to defend all that he stands for 
