Domestic players must remain open-minded, insists Pathan
India all-rounder Yusuf Pathan featured for Prime Bank in the Dhaka Premier League [DPL] this season. Although his team finished ninth and could not qualify for the Super League, Yusuf saw plenty of positives for Bangladesh’s cricket.
“I am quite impressed with many of the Bangladeshi cricketers," Pathan said. “We have some players in our team who can go for big hits like [Sazzadul Haque] Ripon, Nahidul [Islam] and Delwar [Hossain].”
"In India, our pace bowlers bowl 35-40 overs in a match, while in Bangladesh, spinners bowl a similar number of overs. It is a huge difference in culture. But the Bangladeshi spinners don't allow getting away with a lot of runs.
"The ball spins despite there not being a lot of grass in the pitches. It encourages both batsmen and bowlers. You must give credit to those who are preparing these good wickets," he added.
Yusuf also appreciated the way Bangladesh exploited its resources in order to construct a solid infrastructure.
“There's obviously a difference in structure. BCCI has done a lot for the Indian players. Every state has at least seven-eight grounds; Mumbai has around 50 grounds. Baroda and Maharashtra have plenty of facilities where you can play age-group cricket. The BCCI has developed many grounds, which provides great practice and match facilities to the players.
"We [the Pathan brothers, Yusuf and Irfan] also have several branches of our academy all over India. It is called CAP. We are providing kids with those things which we didn't know at the start of our career: how should they approach certain things and then become more professional.
"Bangladesh, I think, have done laudable things for cricket. BKSP, Mirpur and Fatullah are good facilities."
The 35-year-old hasn’t had a great campaign in DPL and amassed 159 runs in 7 matches. He played two matches for Abahani in the tournament’s previous edition as well.
Yusuf Pathan has also pointed out the lacking in the players’ mentality. According to him, the players have to be open-minded. From what he has learnt from the coaches here is that most of the players are not open to suggestions.
“One thing that is common when I speak to coaches here is that players have a set mindset, which is quite disappointing. These clubs spend a lot of money on these players who shouldn't worry about anything else other than developing themselves quickly. After getting a Premier-League contract, the players should be motivated to make it big. They must remain open-minded.
“If someone tells me I should improve in a certain area, I will take that advice happily. I think most Indian cricketers have this attitude. I think it is a bit lacking here, at least from what the coaches are telling me. They tell me that the players are not prepared to listen. They feel they know what they have to do. I think it hurts cricket. I think they should change this culture. They should be hungrier. Unless you open up your heart and mind, you will struggle at the highest level,” said Yusuf.
