There is a massive chunk of cricket academies spread across the country due to the glamour of the game. Some of them really work hard and produces fresh talent keeping in mind requirements of modern day cricket.
Till some years ago cricket academies meant minting money. Establishing cricket academies became a fashion. But now this trend has declined due to awareness among the parents and financial constraints of families.
The appointment of Nadeem as UBL’s head of cricket changed the concept of coaching in the UBL academy. He changed the basic concepts, environment and style of coaching. That’s why an academy which was running for many years in a dull manner suddenly came in the limelight. A number of cricket crazy children got admission in the academy. Now the academy has as many as 600 students
It is necessary for youngsters and their parents to know who is running the academy, who is behind the academy because it is his expertise that matters, how he finds talent and polishes young cricketers. Coaching is a hard job and demands passion and knowledge of all important aspects of the game as well as physique of children.
UBL was a big name in Pakistan’s domestic cricket. The bank has employed such stars as Inzamam-ul-Haq, Waqar Younis, Mushtaq Ahmed and Rashid Latif. These days its academy is making its name.
In just one year UBL cricket academy has emerged as one of the best cricket academies due to its dynamic leadership. It is led by former Test cricketer Nadeem Khan, who is Head Cricket Academy & Manager UBL Cricket Team.
The appointment of Nadeem as UBL’s head of cricket changed the concept of coaching in the UBL academy. He changed the basic concepts, environment and style of coaching. That’s why an academy which was running for many years in a dull manner suddenly came in the limelight. A number of cricket crazy children got admission in the academy. Now the academy has as many as 600 students.
A fact which was neglected by dozens of cricket academies in the past was that cricket academies were not registered with any cricket association. Nadeem solved the issue by registering the UBL cricket academy with a zone of KCCA.
He has introduced cricket curriculum with five volumes. “Our cricket academy is like a school. We don’t just want to produce good cricketers. We also want our pupils to be good human beings, responsible citizens,” said Nadeem Khan.
“Our main purpose is to produce gentleman cricketers as in the past,” he said. “The best time to educate anybody is childhood. While teaching the techniques of the game, we also educate them about how to be a good citizen.”
The academy is being run on no-profit-no-loss basis. Only Rs1000 is its monthly fee which is spent on the facilities provided to the young cricketers.
“We test the skills of the boys who come here and then send them to group houses according to their talent where they learn under the guidance of experienced coaches,” Nadeem said.
One good thing that Nadeem has done is that he has engaged as coaches those former first class and Test cricketers who had been long unemployed so that they could transfer their experience to the young and get good salaries.
He said that each house of UBL cricket academy comprises 25 students. Each coach of the academy at least has got coaching certification from ECB and PCB.
Nadeem said that the idea of introducing the syllabus of cricket coaching in five volumes was taken from Australian cricket academies.
A fact which was neglected by dozens of cricket academies in the past was that cricket academies were not registered with any cricket association. Nadeem solved the issue by registering the UBL cricket academy with a zone of KCCA.
He said that there was a common complaint that academies were not affiliated with any regional cricket association. “Thus, we have registered ourselves in KCCA zone VII. Now our young cricketers will play all KCCA events.
“No one can come in the limelight unless he plays well at regional and district level. Without it no one can become a successful cricketer,” he said.
UBL cricket academy participated in the KCCA President Cup 2017 and although they played for the first time they performed well.
The UBL coaching panel consists of former first class cricketers Umar Rasheed, Aly Haider, Zafar Ali, Asif Mahmood, and former Test cricketer Farhan Adil.