...whats the rush?
Hes fast. He is good. He has a lot of potential. But, he is 16!
If I had a dime for every talented player we have ruined because we introduced him at the professional level too early, Id be a rich man. There is no concept of grooming, maturing, aging, and educating our up and coming sportsmen.
Instead of university scholarships, our 16 year old talent gets a place in some departmental team/regional team, or even the national team. Instead of going through a conditioning and maturing process, the kid is shoved into the limelight, where he may show flashes of brilliance for a while, but because of elevated expectations, ends up injuring his body, and decaying too early, or getting caught up in the flashier side of the sporting world....money!
PCB should have a finishing school of sorts, where they pick up talent from schools at 14-15, and then give them college scholarships while grooming their game. Create a bigger academy for them. Give them boarding and lodging. Send them to school in the morning. Train them in the afternoon and evenings. Attach academic conditions to their careers. As a matter of fact, this should be done for hockey and other sports as well.
Look at Afridi. His career was a bust overall. The only reason he is remembered is for his occasional flashes of brilliance with the bat and his lofty sixes, and quick fire 50s or 100s. Muhammad Amirs career decayed way too soon. Same with Shoaib Akhtar. We have never really been able to extract full value from our players.
Now I dread the future of this new kid, Naseem Shah.
Hes fast. He is good. He has a lot of potential. But, he is 16!
If I had a dime for every talented player we have ruined because we introduced him at the professional level too early, Id be a rich man. There is no concept of grooming, maturing, aging, and educating our up and coming sportsmen.
Instead of university scholarships, our 16 year old talent gets a place in some departmental team/regional team, or even the national team. Instead of going through a conditioning and maturing process, the kid is shoved into the limelight, where he may show flashes of brilliance for a while, but because of elevated expectations, ends up injuring his body, and decaying too early, or getting caught up in the flashier side of the sporting world....money!
PCB should have a finishing school of sorts, where they pick up talent from schools at 14-15, and then give them college scholarships while grooming their game. Create a bigger academy for them. Give them boarding and lodging. Send them to school in the morning. Train them in the afternoon and evenings. Attach academic conditions to their careers. As a matter of fact, this should be done for hockey and other sports as well.
Look at Afridi. His career was a bust overall. The only reason he is remembered is for his occasional flashes of brilliance with the bat and his lofty sixes, and quick fire 50s or 100s. Muhammad Amirs career decayed way too soon. Same with Shoaib Akhtar. We have never really been able to extract full value from our players.
Now I dread the future of this new kid, Naseem Shah.
