Head coach hunt: Waqar, Mohsin emerge forerunners

Former cricketers apply for coveted role as deadline extended to February 8.

KARACHI:

Former captain Waqar Younis and former coach and chief selector Mohsin Khan have emerged as leading candidates to coach the national team again as the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has convened a meeting of the committee on February 9.

Although the previous deadline for the positions of head coach as well as batting and fielding coaches was Thursday, it was later extended to February 8.

The fast-bowling great and the stylish opening batsman of the 80s submitted their application for the coveted posts on the same day.



The PCB formed a committee last month to select the coaching panel. The body comprises legendary Javed Miandad (Director General PCB) and Wasim Akram along with Chief Operating Officer Subhan Ahmed and Director Domestic Cricket Intikhab Alam, who headed the previous committee that picked Dav Whatmore.

It has been learnt that apart from Younis and Mohsin, over a dozen candidates applied for the job including some other big names as well.

Various PCB officials hinted at giving priority to a home coach while Wasim also spoke in favour of a Pakistani coach.

The new coach will replace Whatmore who left last week after finishing his two-year tenure.

According to an official close to the process, Younis appears to be the leading contender.

“Waqar is the leading contender,” he told The Express Tribune. “He also had a meeting with chairman [Zaka Ashraf] in which he spoke about his plans. The former captain’s last run was comparatively successful so that makes him favourite for the job.

I will come up with plans: Younis  

Meanwhile, Younis – who tendered an unexpected resignation from his previous stint as head coach citing ‘medical grounds’ – said the issues behind his resignations have been resolved.

“I will come up with a plan if given another opportunity,” said the Test cricketer while speaking to reporters in Lahore.

“Fitness and discipline are the areas in which I will not compromise.”

The former captain, who represented Pakistan in 87 Tests and 282 One-Day Internationals, also expressed satisfaction on the inclusion of Wasim his fearsome pace bowling partner of the 90s in the coach-hunt committee.

“It’s good to see that cricketers of the 90s – when Pakistan saw a lot of victories – are coming forward.”

Younis’ last stint as Pakistan coach stretched from March 2010 to August 2011.

He was credited for the team’s rise from an infamous 2009-10 tour of Down Under where Pakistan failed to register a single win.

However, his impressive run was marred by a heated tiff with the then captain Shahid Afridi, following which he resigned while Afridi was sacked.

Mohsin ready to serve the national team

Mohsin, another strong candidate with a highly successful record at the Test level, submitted his application hours before the deadline.

Mohsin coached Pakistan to a historic whitewash over England in the 2012 Test series in the UAE, yet was sidelined controversially after the tour.

He said he was ready to serve the team in the same capacity again.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 7^th, 2014.

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