Looking for a new coach

Pakistan's new cricket coach, domestic or foreign, needs nerves of steel!

As Waqar Younis’s tenure as Pakistan cricket coach draws to a close, questions inevitably arise about his likely replacement. With the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) forming a committee to select the new coach, there have been mixed signals from its members when it comes to the question of appointing a Pakistani or a foreigner to the job.

Opinions may vary regarding whether to go for a local or a foreign coach, but there is little doubt, that a Pakistani in the job will inevitably be drawn into the domestic politics of the country’s cricketing hierarchy, and as often happens, may end up facing accusations of regional bias.

The appointment of a foreign coach, therefore, can at least help avoid such an outcome. Former Pakistan coach Geoff Lawson recently stressed the point that a Pakistani coach, whether coming from Karachi or Lahore, will be under such a lot of pressure that he will not be able to do the work that he has been essentially hired for, ie, concentrating on building the best team possible.

As for the common argument about the language barrier that is often put forward when arguing against the hiring of a foreign coach, it should be noted that many Pakistani cricketers spend a lot of time in England every year playing county, club or league cricket, and their lack of proficiency in English does not seem to have hampered the way they play their cricket.

The only major problem that the PCB may come across if it does decide to go the route of hiring a foreign coach, will be of convincing a foreigner to take up the job. Given the PCB’s tendency of replacing coaches frequently, and the amount of pressure and controversy that the job has attracted in recent times, it won’t be surprising that these factors act as a strong deterrent for potential replacements.

One just hopes that whoever is appointed eventually, besides having sound job knowledge and a good cricketing brain, also has nerves of steel to deal with all the controversies that have become part and parcel of Pakistan cricket.