PCB hunt for new head coach

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has officially begun the search for a new permanent head coach by posting a formal advertisement on its website.

According to the details, the cricket board is seeking a Level III qualified coach with a minimum of 10 years experience of coaching national or domestic level cricket teams. The development comes after Javed, according to the sources, remains no longer interested in the head coach role.

For the unversed, the former fast bowler was appointed as the interim white-ball head coach role in November last year after Gary Kirsten relinquished the role just ahead of the team's tour to Australia.

He was promoted to the all-format interim head coach the following month as Jason Gillespie had also stepped down due to his differences with the cricket board.

Javed's tenure as the interim head coach was due to end with the ICC Men's Champions Trophy 2025 but was given an extension for the national team's white-ball tour of New Zealand, which concluded earlier this month.

However, the PCB has now decided against giving another extension to the former pacer. But despite his potential exit as the interim head coach, Javed may still find a place in Pakistan's cricketing setup as he is interested in becoming the Director of the High-Performance Centre, for which the cricket board has also issued an advertisement.

Notably, the position of the Director of the High-Performance Centre was vacated after Nadeem Khan's resignation.

According to sources, the cricket board is dealing with limited resources from the former national cricketers and is instead tilted towards bringing in a foreign coach.

Despite past trends of hiring prominent figures, sources claimed that the PCB is unlikely to pursue high-profile names this time around.

Naqvi praises Women's team

PCB Chairman Mohsin Naqvi has confirmed that the national women's cricket team will not travel to India for the upcoming ICC Women's Cricket World Cup, scheduled to take place later this year.

Naqvi made the statement on Saturday during his visit to the Lahore City Cricket Association (LCCA) Ground, where he met the women's team after their successful run in the ICC Women's World Cup Qualifier. Pakistan finished their campaign on a high note, securing five consecutive wins, including a seven-wicket victory over Bangladesh in their final match.

While speaking to the media, Naqvi reiterated the board's stance, saying that Pakistan will not send its team to India, as per the 'Fusion Formula' that was earlier introduced before the ICC Men's Champions Trophy.

"Pakistan will not travel to India as this formula has already been agreed upon," said Naqvi.

When asked about the possibility of a neutral venue for Pakistan's matches in the tournament, Naqvi responded that the decision lies with the host country, but maintained that Pakistan will not travel to India under any circumstances.

Pakistan secured a place in the Women's World Cup with a strong performance, including an 87-run win over Thailand followed by their final victory against Bangladesh. The team, led by Fatima Sana, remained unbeaten throughout the qualifier tournament.

Praising the team's performance, Naqvi said it was the result of playing as a united group and assured that the players would be rewarded for their success.

"When a team is gelled in and plays like a unit, it produces such results. They will definitely be rewarded. They deserve it," Naqvi concluded.