PCB goes back on decision to appoint Ijaz Ahmed junior as under-16 team coach

Mismanagement during Emerging Teams Asia Cup was cited as the reason

KARACHI:

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has gone back on its decision to appoint Ijaz Ahmed Junior as the head coach of the under-16 team.

According to Daily Express, the board has taken this step after news surfaced about the mismanagement by Ijaz-led coaching staff during the recently concluded Emerging Teams Asia Cup (ETAC).

Mohammad Ashraf and Shaukat Mirza will coach the side during the upcoming under-16 series against Australia in United Arab Emirates (UAE).

It was earlier reported that lack of knowledge of rules was the reason why Pakistan failed to go past the semi-final stage of ETAC.

According to details, the management was not aware of the rules of the tournament and ended up facing India in the semi-finals instead of Sri Lanka.

Coach Ijaz and Major Colonel retired Naushad Ali did not read the playing conditions of the tournament, sources from inside the board reported.

Due to the same reason, top performer Sahibzada Farhan was rested in the Bangladesh game as the management wasn’t giving value to it.

Despite the better run-rate, Pakistan ended their group campaign as runners-up while Bangladesh topped the group due to playing in away conditions.

Furthermore, captain Mohammad Rizwan was also not aware of the rule as he mentioned about topping the group during a press conference.

They had planned to face Sri Lanka, and ended up facing India — who defeated Pakistan by seven wickets in the semi-final.

Sources further revealed, that coach’s role was quite limited and mostly Rizwan took all the decisions including shuffling in team order. That was another reason for team’s below-par performance in the tournament.