Waqar returns as Pakistan coach

ormer paceman to join team in June for a period of two years

Waqar Younis has been appointed as head coach of the Pakistan cricket team.

Waqar Younis, the former Pakistan paceman, was appointed head coach of the Pakistan cricket team on Tuesday (May 6) for a period of two years. He will start his stint from next month.

A Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) committee, comprising Intikhab Alam, director – domestic cricket operations, Haroon Rashid, director – game development, and Moin Khan, chief selector, unanimously decided to appoint Waqar for his second run in the position.

Moin was appointed as the interim head coach after Dav Whatmore’s contract ended in February for a period of two months. The PCB opted to not extend his contract after Pakistan failed to qualify for the semi-finals of the ICC World Twenty20 2014 in Bangladesh last month.

Waqar expressed his happiness at the appointnment and said that the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015, to be held in Australia and New Zealand next year, would be his immediate focus. “I am extremely pleased to have been selected as the head coach. My immediate aim would be to prepare the team for the upcoming busy cricket season including the next year’s ICC Cricket World Cup in Australia and New Zealand,” he said.

The PCB are also seeking applications for fielding and batting coaches, in addition to a spin bowling consultant, as they seek to prepare for the event.

Waqar, who played 87 Tests and 262 One-Day Internationals, had served as the head coach of the Pakistan team for a year between March 2010 and August 2011 before quitting from the position. At the time, he had said he was quitting because of health issues but reports later suggested it was because he wasn’t happy with his pay package and had differences with Shahid Afridi. He also had two short stints as bowling coach of the team in 2006-07 and 2009.

Following his resignation, Waqar had applied for the job of chief coach of the Australia team too, but didn’t get lucky.

Pakistan’s tour to Sri Lanka in July-August, where it plays two Tests and three ODIs, will be the first assignment for Waqar, who will join the team next month.