Cricket is 24/7 for me.

Some players listen with one ear only.

I am a big fan of the five-bowler strategy.

Australia always play their cricket really hard.

I did my wholehearted effort to lift Pakistan cricket.

Every time we play for Pakistan, we are playing to win.

Technically your best player should be batting at No. 3.

I have high expectations from Babar Azam and Imam-ul Haq.

You ask the guys in the dressing room, I am a very bad loser.

Unpredictable - that's a word that us as coaching staff hate.

I don't think you've ever coached till you've coached an Asian team.

England's full of cricket tradition. I follow the game there hugely.

One of the things you get caught up as a coach is thinking short-term.

If you can't field you can't play for Pakistan. It's as simple as that.

There is a distinction between total control and enjoying total freedom.

Fielding is about attitude and wanting to get out there and get it done.

I have to say that I have developed a real passion for Pakistan cricket.

I have never tried to hide my ambition to work in county cricket one day.

Coming to Pakistan has been unbelievable. It is the best thing of my career.

Make no mistake, I'm a huge admirer of Faheem Ashraf, and I said so in England.

I love Pakistan so I will definitely use all my experience to inspire this team.

I was not sceptical coming to Pakistan. I took the job because I was really excited about it.

Pakistan is a great team to be a part of and to see the emergence of young players is exciting.

To be able to close off a run chase or finish off when you are setting a target is a real skill.

I'm going to give international cricket one more crack. The Pakistan job seems like a perfect fit.

I've got a very soft spot for Mohammad Amir. As a person and as a cricketer, I admire him greatly.

I enjoy seeing young players given the opportunity and then perform and go on to have fulfilling careers.

I am not going to tolerate players turning up unfit. They are professional athletes representing a country.

I do bring an intimate knowledge of the South African team. I know the little idiosyncrasies of each of them.

Captains need to lead well and play within the laws of the game. There cannot be any compromise on that count.

I love coaching internationally because I can develop people, but it's hard to do that in the T20 environment.

What you know is what you know, both culturally and practically, and you use it to the greatest effect you can.

You don't have to be a rocket scientist to work out that the South African bowling attack is exceptionally good.

That unpredictability tag always sort of hangs around the Pakistan team, but that makes us very exciting as well.

It's no easy task to coach the national team. I never realised to what extent one becomes the property of the people.

Having coached in South Africa, you don't really work with wrist-spinners - you work with serviceable finger-spinners.

It's runs for batsmen which is the criteria for selection and similarly, it is wickets for bowlers which are important.

As head coach, I try to give clear role clarity, instil structure and create an environment in which players can excel.

I'd always felt the Australian cricketers' behaviour had been appalling. Tampering the ball too constitutes poor behaviour.

When you get into Indian top-order, you can wreak havoc. It's paramount to rattle the Indian top-order, otherwise, they can hurt you.

I am so passionate about Pakistan cricket that I would never ever put myself in a position where there will be a conflict of interest.

When you are coaching an international team, you are running a programme for 12 months of the year. You get to influence peoples' careers.

I'll never forget Cricket Australia telling me I was too soft and I'd been too soft with the team... I kind of didn't know what they wanted.

People think that South Africa and Australia are culturally similar but, having worked in both environments, I found that theory to be untrue.

Gone are the days of just containing through the middle, gone are the days of just soaking up pressure. You've got to be able to take wickets.

I've never been a massive advocate of international Twenty20 cricket except a World Cup every two or three years, because that gets the best players together.

That's part and parcel of touring England. You have to be very street smart and on your game. If you're not, the media and the ECB will have a field day with you.

When you are getting to No. 1 you're always chasing a dream. And then when you're there your focus changes because the expectation to defend that title is massive.

It was tough coaching Australia. They were so set in their ways because they have been the right ways - but the culture needed changing because the discipline was shoddy.

I was telling somebody the other day that I have had five semi-finals with South Africa and never got to a final. I got to one final with Pakistan and eventually got a medal!

Share This Page