Lahore: The three-member committee constituted by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) to hunt for a new head coach to succeed Waqar Younis is eyeing an ‘internationally experienced’ candidate, reducing the chances of a local taking over the post.
The committee comprises of former team manager and coach, Intikhab Alam, as the chairman of the panel, and former Pakistan captain Zaheer Abbas and former wicket-keeper batsman Naushad Ali as the other two members, while former captain Ramiz Raja will assist the committee in selection of the coach.
“We’re obviously thinking of an internationally experienced coach,” Alam told reporters.
“It’s a big task, but we need someone who has coached an international team and has a good reputation and coaching career. That’s the way we will shortlist the candidates,” he added.
Alam believes that the experience factor reduces chances of a local option.
“Naturally we will be considering the local coaches, but the experience factor reduces the chances of that. We want a coach who has the ability to cope with the psychology of the players and who has good management skills,” The Express Tribune quoted Alam, as saying.
However, committee member Abbas has already expressed his preference for a Pakistani coach, saying that a non-Asian coach would be “worried about the situation in Pakistan, and this may affect the time he can spend in the country and how well he can perform the job.”
“I know opinion may differ, but I don’t see any conflict in short-listing candidates,” Alam said, adding that the shortlisted names would be passed onto the PCB, which would finalise the coach of the Pakistan team.
Meanwhile, The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has announced the itinerary for the autumn series against Sri Lanka to be played in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
The Pakistan versus Sri Lanka series consists of three Test Matches, five One-Day Internationals (ODIs) and one Twenty20 International.
The first Test match will commence from October 18 at the Sheikh Zayed International Cricket Stadium, Abu Dhabi. (ANI)