Misbah Appointed Pak Head Coach And Chief Selector; Waqar Named As Bowling Coach

The Misbah-Waqar duo will begin their roles with the upcoming three ODI and three T20I home series against Sri Lanka, which will be played from 27 September to 9 October

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), on Wednesday, appointed former skipper Misbah-ul-Haq as the head coach and chief selector of the national side. He will be accompanied with former bowling legend Waqar Younis who has been named as the bowling coach of the team. According to a Pakistani media report, these two former captains emerged as the top candidates for their posts during the interview process conducted by a five-member panel of the PCB last week.

BREAKING: Misbah-ul-Haq has been named Pakistan’s head coach and chief selector and Waqar Younis as the bowling coach. pic.twitter.com/r7qLwEcJqI

— ICC (@ICC) September 4, 2019

Misbah, after being given two major responsibilities, said, “It is very humbling for me to join a select group of some of the very best to have coached the Pakistan national sides in the past. It is an honour and more than that, a massive responsibility as we live and breathe cricket.” “I know expectations are high, but I am absolutely ready and up for the task otherwise I would not have thrown my name in the hat for one of the most challenging and coveted roles in Pakistan cricket,” he added. In August, Misbah stepped down from his post in the cricket committee and submitted his application for the post of head coach. The other two members who had applied for the post of head coach were former Pakistan Test batsman Mohsin Hasan Khan and Australia's Dean Jones. Waqar, on the other hand, had previously been the team's head coach twice. He faced stiff competition from former West Indies bowling great Courtney Walsh. However, Waqar's experience of working with the national team in the past saw him through. His last tenure was between May 2014 and April 2016. The Misbah-Waqar duo will begin their roles with the upcoming three ODI and three T20I home series against Sri Lanka, which will be played from 27 September to 9 October. Their first series in the World Test Championship will be in Australia when Pakistan will play in Brisbane (21-25 November), followed by a day/night Test in Adelaide (29 November-3 December). The coaching posts of Pakistan cricket team have been lying vacant ever since PCB decided not to extend contracts of Mickey Arthur and others, following the dismal performance of the Men in Green in the 2019 World Cup in June-July.