LAHORE: Former captains Misbah-ul-Haq and Waqar Younis have been finalised as head coach and bowling coach of the Pakistan team for the next three years, Dawn can exclusively reveal.
The duo got the nod from a five-member panel, which interviewed several candidates and submitted their recommendations to the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman, and a formal announcement in this regard is set to be made on Wednesday.
Misbah and Waqar have worked together in the past when the former was the Pakistan captain and the latter was the head coach.
Misbah was a front-runner for the head coach job even though he applied for it on the last day of submission on Aug 26 after resigning as a member of the national cricket committee. He was also appointed by the PCB as the camp commandant of the ongoing pre-season training camp in which most of the contracted players are taking part.
Also in the running for the head coach post were former Pakistan Test batsman Mohsin Hasan Khan and Australia’s Dean Jones. Mohsin had resigned as the chairman of the national cricket committee after announcing he was interested in the post.
Misbah was a surprise appointment as Pakistan captain back in 2011 and he led the team with distinction, going on to become one of the country’s greatest skippers. It remains to be seen whether he can work the same magic as the head coach.
Waqar’s readiness to work under Misbah comes as a surprise considering he has been Pakistan head coach on two occasions in the past.
Former West Indies bowling great Courtney Walsh had also applied for the post of bowling coach but Waqar’s experience of working with the national team in the past has seen him emerge as the first choice.
Waqar first joined the national team setup as a bowling coach in 2006, only to leave in 200 7 after the PCB decided to keep his services for the Test series against South Africa but not the subsequent ODI series.
He returned to the same post in 2009 before being elevated to the head coach post in place of Intikhab Alam but resigned after the 2011 World Cup after developing differences with then ODI skipper Shahid Afridi.
He was again appointed as head coach in 2014 but resigned in 2016, complaining that the PCB had leaked his confidential report against some players of the team.
However, the panel that included former Test skipper Intikhab, former batsman Bazid Khan, PCB Chief Executive Wasim Khan, PCB Board of Governors member Asad Ali Khan and Director International Zakir Khan seems to have had no issues with Waqar’s past record.
Dawnhas learns that Waqar has received some special instructions from the PCB not to repeat his past mistakes and has also been asked to confine himself to his role as bowling coach instead of trying to guide Misbah.
