LAHORE: Former Pakistan cricketers Mohammad Hafeez and Azhar Ali have taken a critical stance on Lahore Qalandars’ Player Development Program (PDP), highlighting concerns over its effectiveness in producing international-level talent.
Expressing their views on a local sports channel, Hafeez emphasized the program’s active engagement but questioned its ability to deliver standout performers beyond Haris Rauf.
“So far, whatever progress Lahore Qalandars have made within the PDP, there is no doubt that they are very active. But so far, apart from just Haris Rauf, we haven’t seen a product of the PDP that has caught our eye at the international level,” Hafeez said.
“And that product of the PDP, which you have found, is performing. When they started to think outside, they started picking the right players. The PDP program is good for cricket promotion, it enhances the franchise’s hype, but it is not performing on the ground,” he further added.
Azhar Ali noted the inclusion of established players like Fakhar Zaman in Lahore Qalandars’ roster, implying that the franchise may rely more on pre-existing talent rather than solely on the PDP for player development.
“They have also added Fakhar Zaman and many other players who were already in the system,” Azhar said.
Is is worth noting that Lahore Qalandars’ Players Development Program was launched in 2016. This program aims to discover and nurture young cricket talents who haven’t been part of Pakistan’s domestic cricket setup before. The program’s representatives travel to different cities, organizing trials and forming city-based teams. These teams then compete in a tournament supervised by the Qalandars, and standout players are selected for advanced training at the Qalandars High-Performance Center (QHPC) in Lahore.
Hafeez, in an interview, spoke about his insistence to the players on recognising their individual roles in the team to emphasise its significance on Pakistan’s success in the broader context.
The former captain revealed spending the two months of his short tenure convincing Babar about cricket’s collective nature as a game, stressing how each player’s contribution plays a crucial role in the achievements the team garners.
The ex-cricketer also acknowledged the star batter’s exceptional talent with the bat, but said he reminded him about his greater goal, which was to develop the Pakistan team.
“You are a great player, you are a wonderful player, and you are playing great cricket; however, you have to develop Pakistan team,” Hafeez said, he told Babar.
