LAHORE – Director High-Performance Aqib Javed discussed various academy projects covering Men’s, Women’s cricket as well as age-group cricket in the PCB Podcast hosted by former Test cricketer Wahab Riaz.
Former Test fast bowlers and the coach shared thoughts on enhancing the coach education system.
Aqib Javed said, “The role of NCA needs to be clearly defined. Its primary function should be to fill the gaps evident in the Pakistan team across all three formats. We have compiled a list of players, identifying a need to have three backup players on the back of one player.”
On the allocation of academies for different age groups and women cricketers, Aqib revealed, “The Karachi High Performance Centre will now cater to women cricketers, providing facilities to support their diet, training and skill development. The Multan HPC will be dedicated to U19 players, with a group of 30 selected for specialised training. The Faisalabad centre will be used for U17 players, while Sialkot’s HPC will focus on grooming 30 U15 players.”
On the upgradation of facilities at the High-Performance Centre, Aqib said, “A biomechanics laboratory will be set up at the National Cricket Academy in Lahore. This will not only help assess bowling actions but also support injury prevention from the U15 level to first-class cricket players. We have also acquired new coaching tools to help batters, bowlers, and fielders enhance their skills.
“Also, we are acquiring Baseball technology to improve the art of spin bowling and launching an information portal at the NCA to highlight its activities, which will be reintegrated with regional cricket.”
Talking about the short and long-term plans he has set for himself as Director of High Performance, he said, “Over the next six months, I have set myself a target to bring about visible improvement. We are coordinating with Head Coach Mike Hesson to identify areas where players require focused development. The long-term plan focuses on nurturing U15, U17, and U19 players.”
On the Coach Education Course, he said, “We already have qualified coaches from Level 1 to Level 4. It is a misconception that Pakistan lack coaches. We are going to introduce ‘game education’, which will cover coach, umpire, trainer and physio education. This will expand the pool of qualified professionals and boost their confidence.”
