‘Franchise cricket money is tempting, but national duty should come first’

Ijaz Ahmed, with his unorthodox stance and bottom-hand-heavy technique, may not have been the most aesthetically pleasing batsman of his time, but his effectiveness was undeniable.

A key member of Pakistan's iconic 1992 World Cup-winning squad, he carved out a distinguished career from 1987 to 2001, featuring in 310 international matches and accumulating nearly 10,000 runs. He scored 12 Test centuries and averaged just under 40 in the longest format, but against top opposition like West Indies, Australia, and England, that figure rose to around 50—a testament to his ability to perform on the biggest stages.

Following his retirement in 2003, Ijaz moved into coaching, taking on roles as Pakistan's batting consultant and assistant coach. He later became head coach of Pakistan's under-19 team and also coached Lahore Qalandars in the Pakistan Super League. This year, he took charge of Durbar Rajshahi in the Bangladesh Premier League (BPL). Despite early struggles, Rajshahi made a strong late push, winning six of their 12 games. Their playoff hopes depended on the outcome of the match between Khulna and Dhaka, but Khulna's dominant win over Dhaka sealed the final playoff spot, bringing Rajshahi's campaign to an end.

Before the tournament's conclusion for Rajshahi, Ijaz sat down with The Business Standard for an exclusive interview, where he spoke about his experience coaching in Bangladesh, the differences between the PSL and BPL, Taskin Ahmed's development, and the current state of Pakistan cricket.

This is your first time working outside Pakistan. How has the experience been so far?

Well, the subcontinent offers a fairly similar experience no matter where you play. The main difference I've noticed here in Bangladesh is that the ball tends to turn more compared to Pakistan. Our start to the tournament wasn't ideal, but the players have found their rhythm, and now we're feeling quite confident.

In your opinion, what are the differences between the PSL and the BPL?

The standard of players in the PSL is higher. The overseas cricketers who participate are also of a better quality compared to those in the BPL. One issue I see with the BPL is the inconsistency of franchises. I've heard that from the coming years, franchises will be given contracts to remain in the league for at least five years. If that happens, it will be a great step forward because it will allow teams to be more organised and structured. Right now, new teams are coming in every season, which makes it difficult to build stability.

The cricket boards also play a crucial role in a league's success. I think the PCB is more directly involved with the PSL compared to how the BCB operates with the BPL. That makes a big difference in terms of organisation. If the BCB takes a stronger role in managing the league, it will improve things like payment issues and give the competition a better reputation overall.

You have Taskin Ahmed playing under your leadership, and he has been in outstanding form. However, do you think there are any weaknesses in his bowling that need addressing, especially in the Test format?

I know he enjoys bowling short, and that's something we are working on refining. He's been phenomenal—breaking records and even taking seven wickets in a single match. His confidence is sky-high, which is great to see. But one thing I've noticed is that, in the past, if he got hit for a four or a six, he would lose his composure. We've been advising him to stay calm because, in the shorter formats, boundaries are inevitable. If he lets frustration take over, he won't be able to maintain his line and length.

For Test cricket, consistency is key. If you keep hitting the right areas and work on swinging the ball—bowling outswingers consistently and then suddenly bringing one back in—you can deceive batters. That's something we are focusing on improving.

Jishan Alam's batting approach is quite unconventional. In your view, how can he find success in international cricket with this style?

To succeed in any condition, a batter must have a solid defensive technique. That's something I've been discussing with him. He's still young, which means he has plenty of time to refine his game. But what makes him special is that he's a multi-dimensional cricketer. Along with his batting, he can also bowl, as we've seen with his off-spin in the powerplay overs. If he continues to develop his skills, I believe he'll be a great prospect for Bangladesh in the coming years.

Before the 1992 World Cup, your form wasn't at its best, but Imran Khan continued to back you, particularly for your fielding and occasional left-arm seam bowling. Could you share some insights from that period?

One of my biggest advantages was my fielding ability. I used to bat at No. 7 and would typically contribute 20-25 runs with the bat while also saving 20-25 runs in the field. Imran Khan used to tell me that, in his eyes, I was effectively scoring 50 runs every match. I used to joke with him, saying that once he retired, the next captain wouldn't look at my contributions the same way and would probably drop me from the team. And that's exactly what happened after his retirement—it took me two years to fight my way back into the team.

When you face such setbacks, you have to work even harder. I went back to the domestic circuit, performed consistently, and improved my bowling. During that period, I would arrive at the ground at 9 o'clock in the morning and leave at 5 in the evening. That's the level of dedication needed to make a comeback. In the subcontinent, if you're out of the spotlight for six months, people forget about you—it's as if you no longer exist. That makes it even harder to reclaim your place. I even played through a shoulder injury because I knew that if I didn't, I would be forgotten.

Nowadays, players are participating in so many franchise leagues, which can impact their performances in international cricket. If someone is constantly playing short-format cricket, they will struggle to bowl long spells in Tests. You can see how India is benefiting from managing this balance—their players only participate in the IPL. The PCB is also limiting players to just two NOCs per year for foreign leagues, and I believe this will help Pakistan's national team in the long run. The money from leagues is tempting, but it shouldn't come at the cost of injuries or national duty. Representing your country is a matter of immense pride, and players should always prioritise that.

Your record in Australia and New Zealand was quite strong. However, you had a bit of an issue with Shane Warne. What was the conflict between you two?

Everyone is entitled to their opinion, but when I read what Warne had said about me in the newspapers, I knew I had to respond. I played three or four Test matches against him and scored three centuries, which was my way of answering him. That's how any player should respond when provoked—through performance.

At that time, the Australian team was notorious for sledging. They used every psychological tactic to get under your skin, but I'm proud of how I handled it. One of the key reasons I was successful in those conditions was my discipline. I was extremely dedicated to leaving balls outside the off-stump, which is an area where batters with weaknesses against pace tend to struggle. I stuck to my strengths, and that helped me do well against a world-class bowling attack.

Back in the early 90s, ODI cricket was rapidly gaining popularity. Do you see any similarities between that era and the rise of T20 cricket today?

Yes, I see a lot of similarities. In fact, I often think about how much I would have enjoyed playing in this era. If you look at my strike rate, it was quite high for that period. The boundaries were much larger than they are now, yet I still managed to score quickly. Back then, a total of 225 was often a match-winning score, whereas today, even 350 isn't always enough.

Another major difference is the bowling quality. The bouncer rule wasn't as strict back then, and almost every team had at least one bowler capable of consistently bowling at 150 kph. Players like Ambrose, Marshall, Walsh, Waqar, and Wasim were on another level. Today, there are only a handful of bowlers who can generate that kind of quality. I don't blame the modern players for this—it's more about the way cricket has been commercialised.

Test cricket is also struggling to maintain its audience, but I believe pitch conditions play a big role in this. If pitches are too flat and matches become predictable, people lose interest. A possible solution is introducing more drop-in pitches in the subcontinent, which could create more excitement and improve the overall quality of the game.

How do you see Pakistan cricket at the moment?

I've spoken about this before, and my comments weren't well received. But I always speak honestly, without sugarcoating anything. Right now, Pakistan cricket is not in a good place. The pitches we prepare at home aren't helping us—we either draw matches or lose them, which hinders our progress.

The long period we spent playing home matches in the UAE also hurt the development of our local cricketers. Our struggles in places like Australia and England stem from the fact that we don't prepare those kinds of pitches at home. Instead of creating surfaces that just give us occasional wins, we need to develop pitches that genuinely prepare our players for overseas conditions.

In the 1999 World Cup, Bangladesh, who were newcomers at the time, defeated Pakistan in the group stage. What was the dressing room atmosphere like after that loss?

The atmosphere wasn't too bad. Bangladesh got off to a strong start since Wasim Akram wasn't available to bowl with the new ball. They put up a competitive total, and their bowling was outstanding in those conditions. We moved past that defeat and reached the final, but what still pains me is that we won the toss and chose to bat first in the final. Had we bowled first, we might have been in a much better position to win