Farhana Ayaz:Old-timers no place in Pakistan team: Maqsood (5 June 1997)

05 June 1997

Old-timers have no place in team: Maqsood

Farhana Ayaz

RAWALPINDI, June 4: Former national coach and chairman of selection committee Maqsood Ahmed has termed the inclusion of oldtimers in the team as hindrance to the progress of the team.

Talking to this correspondent, the former Test cricketer stated that senior players who have been discarded in the past should be allowed only one chance, if their presence is required. He referred to the present example of Rameez Raja who has been included in the side on a number of times. "By doing so the progress of the team is being retarded when repeated chances are given to old-timers," he said.

Maqsood popularly known as Merry Max questioned whether the board has Rameez Raja in mind as captain for the 1999 World Cup. "With Wasim not playing, it seems the board is making preparations with Raja in mind to be the captain of the 1999 world cup," Max said sarcastically.

Max, who was the first Pakistani to turn professional, stated that it was a major issue that PCB itself is involved in blocking the progress of the squad when potential cricketers await the call to play for the country. Max who remained coach of Pakistan for seven years (1962-69), added that the board needs to settle the issue of who will lead the Pakistan team now, because it will become a bigger problem soon. Commenting on the recent injuries to fast bowlers and fitness of players, Max said that in Pakistan it has become absolutely necessary for the board to plan fitness centres in major cities where these cricketers can work out with others. "There is need to understand the true concept about the fitness of fast bowlers. We have failed to utilise Waqar Younis fully because no one took the responsibility," he said.

Max, who scored a century on his debut while playing for Southern Punjab against Northern India in the Ranji Trophy, said the board has failed to take responsibility. Only recently a physio has been hired which was the right thing to do in the present days when the one-day cricket has put too much pressure on the fast bowlers. "Therefore, I would say it is absolutely necessary to set up fitness centres in at least major cities so that the cricketers can develop their muscles and tune themselves to the hard challenges ahead." The players have been made to play more. They fail to adjust accordingly to the situation. Therefore, it requires professional handling, he said.

Max stressed that unless fitness of the players was given the right attention there was little hope for Pakistan to stay up front with the growing hard competitions. He added that some sort of fitness plan should be introduced and made compulsory in different phases, especially in off-season for those who are not engaged. Max said that one-day cricket was more damaging to fast bowlers or semi-fast bowlers because they have to put in their very best in each and every game, while in batting there is always one or two batsmen who get among the runs but the fatigue to the bowlers is much more.

Source:: Dawn (https://xiber.com/dawn/)