LAHORE - The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has finally decided not to appoint coach for the Pakistan-India bilateral series and deferred the matter till South Africa tour being commenced in the last week of January 2013, it has been learnt.
The board has postponed the appointment of batting coach for the Pakistan tour to India which ends on January 7 and has decided that the coach will be appointed after India tour, a source confided to this scribe on condition of anonymity.
"The board will not appoint batting coach for India series as it has been decided to make the appointment for the South Africa tour that begins in third week of January," the source added.
A number of foreign and local candidates, including former captains Inzamam-ul-Haq, Zaheer Abbas, Basit Ali, Shoaib Mohammad and Salim Malik have either submitted their CVs for the batting coach job or have shown their interest publicly for the vacancy.
"The selection process for a batting coach is going to take time because we have received CVs of some very strong local and foreign candidates. The coach selection committee wants to assess their CVs to select the man for the job," the source added. The biggest problem faced by the board is that the former greats of the country had shown their interest in the job while they lack qualification required by the Pakistan Cricket Board in its advertisement, the source claimed.
But the Pakistan greats do not fulfil the board’s requirements and are not qualified coaches," the source said. He pointed out that in contrast most of the candidates from abroad fulfil the conditions and are eligible for the batting coach job.
The source said the decision was delayed as chairman Zaka Ashraf takes his time to choose the right person for the right job and is not hasty while taking important decisions." Earlier, the Pakistan Cricket Board chief had stated that the board will form a new committee for the selection of batting coach for the Pakistan team as presently head coach Dav Whatmore is looking after batting problems faced by the Pakistani batsmen, the source maintained.
Meanwhile, former Pakistan team head coach Waqar Younis is set to take over as High Performance Director of the National Cricket Academy very soon, it has been learnt.
Sources in the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) confirmed that board chairman Zaka Ashraf was keen to utilise the expertise of Waqar. "Informal discussions have been held recently when Waqar came to Lahore to attend a meeting held regarding improvement of domestic cricket structure and the productivity of the National Cricket Academy," the source said.
"Waqar will be given the role of High Performance Director at the National Cricket Academy including some other additional responsibilities," the source claimed. Waqar was the head coach of Pakistan cricket team in 2010 and 2011 before resigning in September last year due to his ailing health and personal reasons. "The chairman is impressed by Waqar's background as a former player, captain and coach and feels he can contribute a lot to the efforts to modernise and introduce specialisation in Pakistan cricket at the domestic level," the source added.
"The fact that Waqar, having experience of an international team coach and also worked in Australian cricket, has convinced chairman that he is the right man to be the High Performance Director at the academy," he said.
The source pointed out that as part of the modernisation efforts the board was also installing biomechanics laboratory at the NCA. "That is also one reason why Waqar is being considered for the post," the source stated.