Islamabad: Former Pakistan fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar has come out in support of Aaqib Javed, the Director of the High Performance Centre and a member of the national selection committee, praising his efforts to bring back Pakistan’s 1992 World Cup mindset.
Speaking in an interview with PTV, the former speedster said Aaqib was trying to revive an approach that had worked well in the past. He explained that Aaqib wanted to develop replacements for every player so that Pakistan would not depend on any single individual.
Akhtar said Pakistan were facing difficulties with their fast bowling resources and would need to make changes to strengthen their pace attack.
He described this approach as similar to the mindset of the 1992 World Cup winning team. He recalled that when legendary fast bowler Waqar Younis was not fully fit, the management knew that he could be replaced by Shoaib Akhtar.
The former pacer also explained that players dropped from the national side would be sent back to the National Cricket Academy to work on their performances before earning another opportunity to return to the team.
According to Akhtar, dropping a player did not mean abandoning him. Instead, it gave him an opportunity to improve and prove his worth.
Akhtar further claimed that if people could see a change in the Pakistan team’s mindset today, Aaqib Javed deserved more credit than head coach Mike Hesson because of the difficult decisions he had taken.
He believes that building a strong pool of players and ensuring suitable replacements are available will help Pakistan become less dependent on individual performers.
