Misbah-ul-Haq appointed as Pakistan coach and chief selector
Misbah-ul-Haq has been appointed as the head coach along with the chief selector of the Pakistan national cricket team in a unique and unprecedented move by the PCB. Meanwhile, it has also been announced that former head coach Waqar Younis will take over the reins as the bowling coach.
For the longest time when Micky Arthur was not given the extension following the World Cup debacle, speculation was rife about the former Pakistan captain being appointed as the head coach. Misbah delayed applying for the position but once he did, the writing was on the all as the most successful Test skipper of the Pakistan cricket history beat the likes of Mohsin Khan and Dean Jones for the role.Â
However, it was an unprecedented move as Misbah has also been handed the responsibility of Pakistan's chief selector and quite interestingly, Mishabh's rise to the position is a unique one as he was a part of the very committee that decided to not renew Aurthur's contract and now he succeeded him. To interview the candidates, the PCB had a five-member panel with two independent former cricketers - Intikhab Alam and Bazid Khan - governing board member Asad Ali Khan, Wasim Khan (chief executive, PCB), and Zakir Khan (director - international cricket) for the recruitment process.
Meanwhile, Waqar Younis has been appointed as the bowling coach after another shortlisted candidate Mohammad Akram withdrew at the last minute. This is Waqar's fifth term with Pakistan in a coaching role, having earlier served as the bowling coach of the side in 2006-07, bowling and fielding coach briefly in 2009-10, head coach in 2010-11, and again from 2014 to 2016. Now, he will be replacing Azhar Mahmood, who was released alongside Arthur.
The first assignment of the duo will be the upcoming three ODI and three T20I home series against Sri Lanka, which will be played from September 27 to October 9. However, their first series in the World Test Championship will be in Australia, where Pakistan will play in Brisbane followed by a day/night Test in Adelaide in November and December.