ICC Champions Trophy: Mudassar Nazar fears Pakistan cricket going the hockey way

Having moved to England in 1976, Mudassar Nazar may not have spent a lot of time in Pakistan. But few knew Pakistan and its cricket as well as Nazar.

These days, the former all-rounder lives in Dubai but still breathes cricket. So when the 68-year-old says he genuinely fears Pakistan’s cricket team going down the same downward spiral route as its decorated hockey side, one sits up and listens.

Speaking at the ICC Academy here, Mudassar doesn’t waste time getting to what’s bothering him most about Pakistan and its cricket. Towards the end of the 1970s, he had seen what live cricket coverage could do for Pakistan’s national sport hockey. With the team failing to make the podium at Moscow Olympics, over-the-top criticism would soon become the norm with several former players eyeing jobs in the hockey federation. These days, one could get to see similar content on YouTube channels of former Pakistan players and on panel shows.

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“In the late 70s, hockey was very popular. The live telecast of India- Pakistan cricket just hit the roof. And it just about coincided with the time when our hockey team was just struggling a bit. On TV, senior hockey players would pick our own players apart. Every other day, they were fighting for positions in the system and it started to have an effect on the game. Look where our hockey is now,” Mudassar tells The Indian Express.

01 Mudassar Nazar's take on Pakistan pacers On Naseem Shah He's never had a real long run. After a maximum of 6-7 months, he's back on the rehab table. So, he hasn't developed. With every injury, there comes self-doubt. He is now worried about his shoulder. He should go back and play First-Class cricket. Only then he can gain confidence. On Shaheen Shah Afridi With his height and the angle he delivers from, he was always going to be a threat. But he was hurried back after an injury, and hasn’t been the same. If he wants to bowl 10 overs in one-day cricket, he must bowl 20-22 overs in a day in First- Class cricket to be able to do that. Like Zaheer Khan, he should go to county cricket and work on his game, because Shaheen has a problem with his wrist. Haris Rauf Rauf doesn't want to play First-Class cricket, only T20s. But even if you want to bowl four overs, you must be able to bowl 10-12 overs in First-Class cricket a day. He is one-dimensional and bowls only incoming deliveries. Batsmen can easily clear their front leg and hit him over mid-wicket. So the yorker – a delivery with a low margin of error, becomes your wicket-taking ball. But it often ends up as a half-volley.

“It could happen in cricket as well. All the former players are looking for jobs. It’s painful to watch people pick on players and not talk about the game. The only saving grace is the money coming from the ICC. But things need to be turned around now.”

His father Nazar Mohammad faced Pakistan’s first ball in Test cricket and was also their first Test centurion.

After his playing career, Mudassar has served as coach, and head of the National Cricket Academy (NCA) in Lahore – responsible for spotting talents and nurturing them into world-class players. In 2003, after a horrendous World Cup campaign, it was the talents identified by Nazar who formed the core of the transition phase.

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“India is formidable because it has all bases covered. The IPL has brought money which the BCCI has invested back into the game. When we built the NCA, it was a state-of-the-art facility which even impressed the Indian players when they came here in 2004. But now, others have moved ahead. Once I moved out, they shut it down,” Nazar says.

Neighbour’s envy

The IPL has brought about a systemic change in India’s cricket with more emphasis on fitness and hiring professional coaches but, Mudassar says, the same hasn’t happened despite eight seasons of the Pakistan Super League.

“The PSL isn’t settled yet. There are always issues between the cricket board and the PSL franchises. Except for Lahore Qalandars, none of them are investing in grassroots. We have never been the best fielding side or the fittest, but now we are far behind the rest.”

Former Pakistan all-rounder Mudassar Nazar shifted to England in 1976, but now lives in Dubai. (Express Photo by Venkata Krishna B) Former Pakistan all-rounder Mudassar Nazar shifted to England in 1976, but now lives in Dubai. (Express Photo by Venkata Krishna B)

A very stodgy batsman during his playing days, Mudassar is worried about where Babar Azam’s career is heading. “He is not out of form. He comes out and hits four-five boundaries and even batted 30 overs against New Zealand. During a tour in the 1980s, I saw Greg Chappell struggle to put bat to ball… that was being out of form,” he said.

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“Babar, on the other hand, is mentally scarred ever since he was removed from captaincy. He needs to take a break for three-four months like Kohli. Then come back, play First-Class cricket, score three-four centuries. That way, we will get 7-8 years of cricket from him.”

With noises getting louder for a complete overhaul of the team, with a new coach and captain, Mudassar believes this isn’t the time to press the reset button.

“If you keep changing, you are going to struggle. If you have 3-4 past captains in a team, it is not a good sign. You have Aaqib Javed as coach, so give him continuity. Whether it is foreign coaches or local coaches, stability is important. You need to have a three-five year plan. The actual change that is needed is that the government shouldn’t appoint the board chairman. If the Prime Minister changes, the PCB chairman also changes. That leads to more changes. It’s a vicious cycle.”

Mudassar was interested to know what Sunil Gavaskar thought of Pakistan’s batting, especially Babar, before going on a nostalgic ride.

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“For me, he is the god of batting. Nobody knows batting better than him. He is my favourite and because of that, my teammates would ask me to sledge him. But he would never respond. Who else could have scored that 96 at Bangalore (in 1987)? I still believe he got a wrong decision in the end,” he adds.

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