Lahore, 04 January 2024: Pakistan U19 head coach, Mohammad Yousuf held a press conference at Gaddafi Stadium Lahore at the end of team’s training camp for the ICC U19 World Cup, 2024. He talked about the team’s preparation for the mega-event. Pakistan U19 team is set to depart for South Africa on 6 January and will take part in two practice matches before kicking off their campaign against Afghanistan U19 on 20 January.
Mohammad Yousuf: “We summoned our U19 squad on 29 December and conducted fitness Tests before proceeding to the camp. The boys have put in lot of effort and it shows. They delivered a good performance in U19 Asia Cup and rest assured they will perform even better in upcoming matches and bring the World Cup home.”
Q. To what factors do you attribute the defeat in U19 Asia Cup semi-final to?
MY: “We committed lot of mistakes in that match and despite that we lost by only 11 runs. These are young players who are eager to learn and improve their performance. They are learning and putting in a lot of effort however they shouldn’t have lost against UAE, I think there were several miscalculations on their part.”
Q. Do you think any of the U19 players from this crop can step up and play for Pakistan soon?
MY: “I think it would be too early to name anyone but these boys surely have got a lot of potential. We are focusing on the players’ technique. We have the privilege and space of improving their technique and performance; which shouldn’t be taking place when they play for Pakistan because you are expected to perform well there.
“I think we have to take a closer look at the regional teams, after all that is where the talent comes from at the end of the day. I think we should invite their coaches here and make them attend training workshops. It is important that we don’t forge our team on the basis of scoresheets, we have to look more closely at the players’ performances in order to gauge their abilities better.”
Q. Do you think the team will be able to perform better in the World Cup compared to Asia Cup?
MY: “I don’t think that the team’s performance was bad in any way. They beat India and Afghanistan in the U19 Asia Cup. I’m sure you don’t think beating India by eight wickets accounts for bad performance. It’s just that I feel they became overwhelmed in the semi-final having taken the opposing side lightly.
“Our team has great potential; we have players who are eager to perform well. We are also in the process of developing and harnessing their talent so they are able to play good cricket. I think our players need a great deal of aggression on the pitch; controlled aggression that is.”
Q. Which team do you think can give a hard time to Pakistan in the World Cup?
MY: “We shouldn’t take any team lightly. We need aggression, the kind of aggression we had in the 90s. I don’t want the players to go overboard and use offensive language in any way but I do think we have to shun friendliness on the pitch in order to be more competitive on the pitch.”
Q. What challenges will Pakistan face in the World Cup and what do you have to say about the conditions in South Africa?
MY: “I think South African pitches are especially good for the batters. Teams get to score around 400 runs here. It’s not too easy for the bowler though and they do have to struggle. Could anyone imagine that UAE wickets would allow for the kind of scores the teams there were making.
“We shouldn’t take any team lightly as a matter of principle. We have to ensure that our players are at the top of their abilities and we also have to ensure that they exercise a degree of constraint and by that I mean controlled aggression on the pitch.
“We do have to take care of the players’ mental health; it was definitely disheartening for them to lose against UAE. We are trying to work on their technique and boost their confidence. We are doing what we can to enable them to play better cricket. Our team has a lot of resources.”
Q. How do you prioritise fitness of the players?
MY: “I always consult my trainers and physio and ensure that the boys don’t have too much workload. We are trying our best but we should also realise that every player has a certain potential and doing what we can to reserve the energy of the players as they head for a big assignment.”
