Younis Possible New Pakistan Manager

By Parvez Fatteh, Founder of http://sportingummah.com, sports@muslimobserver.com

File:  Waqar Younis

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) are reportedly in talks with former national team captain Waqar Younis for the vacant head coach position. Dav Whatmore’s two-year contract as head coach was not renewed after it expired on Febrary 28th, and Moin Khan was temporarily appointed for the Asia Cup and the ICC World Twenty20, the latter of which ended last week. Just yesterday Moin Khan was selected to head the national selection committee of the PCB.

Waqar, who coached Pakistan in 2010 and 2011 before resigning for health-related and personal reasons, has again expressed his willingness for the post after his previous application was rejected in early February by a PCB coach-finding committee. The board has also been seeking a new batting coach and fielding coach.

At that point in time the committee, which also included Wasim Akram, Javed Miandad and Intikhab Alam as well as PCB’s chief operating officer Subhan Ahmed, decided to pick Moin who was then serving as the Pakistan team manager since the tour of Zimbabwe last August. Reportedly Waqar didn’t get the desired blessings of those who mattered then. Moin only got the job because Wasim Akram vehemently backed the former national wicket-keeper with another ex-skipper and Miandad, who was the then PCB director general, also backing Moin.

Moin, on the other hand, is now certain to take up the crucial role of chief selector after Sethi’s first-choice candidate Rashid Latif opted against working with the PCB only last Wednesday for reasons which still remain unclear. The PCB is set to meet on Monday before announcing the new appointments. And it seems the PCB wants a fresh beginning after the Pakistan early exit from the World Twent20 in Bangladesh earlier this month which cost Mohammad Hafeez the national side’s captaincy.

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