Former Pakistan fast bowler and one of the country’s reputed coaches, Jalaluddin, has urged the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) to invest in grassroots talent development to restore the lost glory of Pakistan cricket.
Jalaluddin, who holds the distinction of securing the first-ever hat-trick in One Day International (ODI) history against Australia in 1982, told Telecom Asia Sport (www.telecomasia.net) that Pakistan cricket’s decline comes as no surprise. He believes the PCB has failed to implement long-term development strategies over the past two decades.
You tell me one long-term measure the PCB has taken since 2000 to halt the decline or revive the game using scientific methods.
Despite having a world-class facility in the National Cricket Academy (NCA), he criticised the PCB for not running structured, "long-term regional programmes" to nurture young cricketers.
Jalal cited the example of West Indies cricket, which, he said, suffered a similar "downfall due to a lack of investment" at the grassroots level.
As one of the most qualified cricket coach from Pakistan, with Level-II coaching accreditations from England and Australia, Jalal has extensive experience in cricket development. He introduced the concept of cricket academies in Pakistan, establishing the Customs Cricket Academy in 1999, Vital Five Cricket Academy in 2009, and Jalaluddin Cricket Academy (JCA) in 2010.
Under his guidance, these academies have produced top-class players such as Fawad Alam, Yasir Shah, Shan Masood, Rameez Aziz, Saifullah Bangash, Mohammad Sami, and Naveed Latif, among others.
There are many academies in Pakistan, but they primarily provide day-to-day coaching rather than structured, long-term development programmes. Properly run academies develop players systematically over three to four years, ensuring they are ready for top-level cricket. Unfortunately, none of the existing academies are doing that.