Intikhab Alam, coach of Pakistan’s 1992 WC winning squad and manager of the current side, sees a lot in common between Afridi and Imran Khan.By Rajarshi Gupta in Kandy
Intikhab was Pakistan's first ODI captain and his contribution to cricket in the country is still part of folklore. He was coach of the sensational 1992 squad, which won the ICC Cricket World Cup in Australia and his stature in Pakistan's cricketing circles has only grown ever since. As manager of the current team, the 70-year old legend continues to share his experience with a group of talented but mercurial players.
Dogged by some controversies in the past, Pakistan seem to be a rejuvenated lot and look well on course for a place in the quarter-finals of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011.
Intikhab was Pakistan's first ODI captain and his contribution to cricket in the country is still part of folklore. He was coach of the sensational 1992 squad, which won the ICC Cricket World Cup in Australia and his stature in Pakistan's cricketing circles has only grown ever since. As manager of the current team, the 70-year old legend continues to share his experience with a group of talented but mercurial players.
Dogged by some controversies in the past, Pakistan seem to be a rejuvenated lot and look well on course for a place in the quarter-finals of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011.
ESPNSTAR.com spoke with Intikhab at the Pallekele International Cricket Stadium in Kandy, as the former all-rounder kept a watchful eye on his wards, who were training hard ahead of their clash against New Zealand.
Rajarshi Gupta: You were manager of the 1992 ICC CWC winning squad and manager now. Nineteen years later, you are managing another Pakistan side in the ICC CWC. How do you compare the two teams?
Intikhab Alam: Fact of the matter is you can't compare the 1992 WC winning side with the present one. Things have changed. It was a different team altogether. We had world-class players in that side like Imran Khan, Javed Miandad, Wasim Akram, Waqar Younus - all super-stars. There are no super-stars in the current team, apart from one or two, which helps. Before we came here, people never rated us. They had different takes on the players but we were very strong from inside and we had worked very hard physically. The energy level in the field has gone up, which is very important in the last 10 or 15 overs. If your energy level doesn't drop, you win most of your matches. Shahid Afridi has done a fantastic job as captain. Everybody likes him, he is very positive and he leads from the front. The most important aspect is that when the captain is performing, then it's a different ball-game. You become even stronger if you are performing well. He gives very positive signals to the players and they look up to him. We have enough ability in the side and we play to our full potential, we are a dangerous team and can beat any side in the world.
RG: This Pakistan side appears to be well-balanced. Your expectations of the side must be soaring.
IA: I personally feel, looking at the other sides, we have a very different team. We have four different spinners, which no other side has. We have a leg-spinner (Afridi), a left-arm spinner (Abdur Rehman) and an off-spinner (Saeed Ajmal), who can bowl the doosra and we have another spinner in Mohammad Hafeez, who is a batting all-rounder. We have a good pace-attack and a power-house in the middle-order - Afridi, Umar Akmal and Abdul Razzaq. If we get a good launching pad, they can score runs very quickly against any attack. So far, I am happy we are working together and the dressing room is very happy, very congenial. Peaking at the right time is, of course, important.
RG: You may not be able to compare sides but from the way Afridi leads the side, does he remind you of Imran Khan in 1992?
Rajarshi Gupta: You were manager of the 1992 ICC CWC winning squad and manager now. Nineteen years later, you are managing another Pakistan side in the ICC CWC. How do you compare the two teams?
Intikhab Alam: Fact of the matter is you can't compare the 1992 WC winning side with the present one. Things have changed. It was a different team altogether. We had world-class players in that side like Imran Khan, Javed Miandad, Wasim Akram, Waqar Younus - all super-stars. There are no super-stars in the current team, apart from one or two, which helps. Before we came here, people never rated us. They had different takes on the players but we were very strong from inside and we had worked very hard physically. The energy level in the field has gone up, which is very important in the last 10 or 15 overs. If your energy level doesn't drop, you win most of your matches. Shahid Afridi has done a fantastic job as captain. Everybody likes him, he is very positive and he leads from the front. The most important aspect is that when the captain is performing, then it's a different ball-game. You become even stronger if you are performing well. He gives very positive signals to the players and they look up to him. We have enough ability in the side and we play to our full potential, we are a dangerous team and can beat any side in the world.
RG: This Pakistan side appears to be well-balanced. Your expectations of the side must be soaring.
IA: I personally feel, looking at the other sides, we have a very different team. We have four different spinners, which no other side has. We have a leg-spinner (Afridi), a left-arm spinner (Abdur Rehman) and an off-spinner (Saeed Ajmal), who can bowl the doosra and we have another spinner in Mohammad Hafeez, who is a batting all-rounder. We have a good pace-attack and a power-house in the middle-order - Afridi, Umar Akmal and Abdul Razzaq. If we get a good launching pad, they can score runs very quickly against any attack. So far, I am happy we are working together and the dressing room is very happy, very congenial. Peaking at the right time is, of course, important.
RG: You may not be able to compare sides but from the way Afridi leads the side, does he remind you of Imran Khan in 1992?
IA: They are two different personalities. I am very happy with Afridi at the helm - he listens to the management, which is a very good thing. The coach (Waqar Younis), myself and the captain - we all sit together and decide things and that is very good. It's not a one-man show. We take each other's consensus and we take decisions on merit. Imran did that too. We always talked about strategies. He didn't take decisions of his own. Both Afridi and Imran inspired their men and that is the most important similarity between the two.
RG: You are known to be a strict disciplinarian but it must be a challenge managing a mercurial side like Pakistan.
IA: I personally feel the management has a back-room job and make sure things are alright. I have seen in my experience of 50 years, as a player, as a captain and in the management that if your communication with seniors and juniors is good, you will not get into any problem. The only time you get into trouble is if your communication is not right. If we drop someone, we tell them why or if a player is going through problems, I sit with him and talk to him like my own son. We don't try to give favours to seniors. Everyone knows what's happening and no one is kept in the dark. That is very important. You have to set an example - if there is a curfew, then everybody has to observe it.
RG: Would you say this is the most disciplined Pakistan side you have seen in years?
IA: It is. You have to say that. For the past eight months, we have been through some very difficult times and mentally we have become very strong. The controversies in the past and have actually helped us become strong. Once you become mentally tough, you can go through any situation. Touch-wood, things have been going well and we will be peaking at the right time - it happened in 1992 also - the team peaked at the right time. Once you start believing in yourself, that is the turning point.
RG: You are known to be a strict disciplinarian but it must be a challenge managing a mercurial side like Pakistan.
IA: I personally feel the management has a back-room job and make sure things are alright. I have seen in my experience of 50 years, as a player, as a captain and in the management that if your communication with seniors and juniors is good, you will not get into any problem. The only time you get into trouble is if your communication is not right. If we drop someone, we tell them why or if a player is going through problems, I sit with him and talk to him like my own son. We don't try to give favours to seniors. Everyone knows what's happening and no one is kept in the dark. That is very important. You have to set an example - if there is a curfew, then everybody has to observe it.
RG: Would you say this is the most disciplined Pakistan side you have seen in years?
IA: It is. You have to say that. For the past eight months, we have been through some very difficult times and mentally we have become very strong. The controversies in the past and have actually helped us become strong. Once you become mentally tough, you can go through any situation. Touch-wood, things have been going well and we will be peaking at the right time - it happened in 1992 also - the team peaked at the right time. Once you start believing in yourself, that is the turning point.
RG: Despite a clean slate, there are still some problems with the side on the field. Are you worried?
IA: Yes, but at the same time, we are still winning. We always discuss things very minutely and we don't let anything slip and everyone has been reminded about this. I am sure when it really matters, we will come good, God willing. We have told them to focus on their game and give their 100% on the field and be sincere to their team and yes, it is working.
IA: Yes, but at the same time, we are still winning. We always discuss things very minutely and we don't let anything slip and everyone has been reminded about this. I am sure when it really matters, we will come good, God willing. We have told them to focus on their game and give their 100% on the field and be sincere to their team and yes, it is working.
