The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has reduced the list of candidates for the national men’s team head coach position from a long list of candidates to just six names, four of whom are foreign coaches. There is also former New Zealand head coach Mike Hesson and Azhar Mahmood, Pakistan’s current assistant coach. Sources close to the matter have come to the fore to reveal that the PCB has formed a four-man committee to fast-track the recruitment process.
This panel comprises Chief Operating Officer Sumair Ahmed Syed, Bilal Afzal, Azhar Ali, a former cricketer and selector, and Aaqib Javed, an ex-interim head coach. They assess the candidates and write final recommendations to PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi. Azhar Mahmood is one of the two local candidates being considered, with Hesson ahead of foreign options. The PCB plans to finalise the appointment before the arrival of Pakistan’s next international missions to promote order in the team.
A Year of Coaching Turmoil
Pakistan’s coaching setup received a makeover last year. Jason Gillespie was named red-ball head coach for two years in April, but he quit in December just before a scheduled Test series against South Africa. He left after a stream of poor results and reported internal feuds. Earlier this October, Gary Kirsten, hired as the white-ball head coach, resigned only half a year after being appointed.
Reports were that Kirsten did not go well with the PCB’s working environment and found it difficult to control the dressing room ambience. The PCB had to make changes at the pace of rapid changes, and it called Aaqib Javed, a former pacer, as an interim coach. He was given an extension to monitor the white-ball series against New Zealand, but he will not continue in that capacity. Aaqib Javed Inching Toward High-Performance Role. Though no longer in the mix for head coach,
Aaqib Javed will take a new role as Director of the High Performance Centre.
There is some expectation that an official announcement about his appointment should come soon. Also, he will likely hold a position of national selector, prerequisites to continuing to shape the team’s strategy and development. With key leadership roles yet to be delineated, the PCB is under pressure to stabilize the national setup prior to the busy calendar in the intercontinental circuit. The last appointment of the head coach will be an important step in that process.
