PCB appoints Ijaz Ahmed as assistant coach

Says he was appointed on request of team management.

KARACHI: The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) on Thursday appointed former Test batsman Ijaz Ahmed as assistant coach of the national cricket team, and he will be travelling with the side for the upcoming tour of Zimbabwe next week.

The PCB said Ijaz had been appointed on the request of the team management.

Interestingly, Ijaz has been working in the national training camp with the team as the batting consultant. Last year he was a part of Waqar Younis' coaching team during the Asia Cup and the tour of England.

The 42-year-old Ijaz, who scored 3,315 runs in 60 Tests, including 12 centuries before retiring from Test cricket in 2001, was famous for his hard-hitting. He also played 250 One-day Internationals, hitting 6,564 runs with 10 centuries.

The Pakistan team is due to leave for Zimbabwe on August 25 for a one-off Test match, two Twenty20 games and five ODIs.

The PCB changed the national team management for the Zimbabwe tour recently, replacing manager Intikhab Alam with Bureaucrat Naved Cheema and also replacing Aaqib Javed and Shahid Aslam on the coaching staff.

Cheema, who is also a member of the governing board, admitted that the national team's image had taken a beating because of scandals and controversies in the last one year and half but expressed confidence that things would work out great now.

"I am confident that things will work out smoothly now in the team because lines have been drawn clearly for the players and officials and everyone has been told about his responsibilities and informed that there will be no compromise on discipline at all," Cheema said.