Keeping faith in Mohsin

Former batsman to remain coach for England series.

LAHORE/KARACHI: Pakistan’s unprecedented show and surprising form has forced the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) to retain interim coach Mohsin Khan for the series against England that takes place in the UAE from next month.

Mohsin was assigned the duties following Waqar Younis’ decision to step down after the tour of Zimbabwe.

The former batsman has been part of the team for the series against Sri Lanka and Bangladesh where, out of a total of 13 matches, Pakistan has lost just one and won ten.

They won the Test, One-Day International (ODI) and Twenty20 series against Sri Lanka and beat Bangladesh in the ODI series too before winning the first Test.

“There’s a committee working to find the best coach,” PCB Chairman Zaka Ashraf told reporters in Lahore. “I think we should have three coaches for the three departments of the game but until then, Mohsin is performing his duties very well and he’ll be coaching the team against England too.”

The committee handed the task of finding Waqar’s replacement is active in finalising the coach but the appointment may well be delayed even after the England series.

A member of the committee, headed by Intikhab Alam, made it clear that former Australian Dav Whatmore looks highly likely to become Pakistan’s coach, though a PCB official suggested otherwise.

“The appointment of a foreign coach isn’t certain,” he said. “A lot depends on the outcome of the series in the UAE. We’ve gotten positive signals on Mohsin’s attitude from players, who say that he has built friendly relationships with them,” added the official referring to former captain Shahid Afridi’s comments lauding the coach.

The official added that although it has not been relayed to Mohsin officially, the former batsman may be handed the task to be at the helm for future assignments if the team does well against England.

‘Reciprocal tours agreed’

Meanwhile, Ashraf confirmed that his meetings with the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) will pave way for tours from both countries’ various teams.

Recently, Bangladesh confirmed its tour of Pakistan for next April – pending a security review in January – with the tour marking the first Test nation’s arrival in the country since the 2009 Lahore attack.

“I had meetings with the BCB officials and we’ve agreed upon reciprocal tours between the two countries. They have agreed to send the women’s team as well as the Academy, ‘A’ and the under-19 teams and we will do that as well.

“As for the national side’s series, we’ll form a detailed security plan well ahead of the tour in April.”

Published in The Express Tribune, December 20^th, 2011.