In a shocking development Pakistan head coach Misbah Ul-Haq and bowling coach Waqar Younis have resigned from their roles with the T20 World Cup little over a month away.
Misbah cited spending “considerable time away from my family in a bio-secure environment” because of Covid-19-related restrictions as the reason for his decision.
While Waqar said that since he and Misbah had started out in their roles together, it made sense to also step away together. With New Zealand scheduled to arrive in Pakistan for a white-ball series later this month.
Misbah and Waqar Era Comes to an End
Misbah and Waqar communicated their decisions to the PCB on Monday morning, around the time the squads for the upcoming series against New Zealand and England at home, as well as the T20 World Cup, were made public.
As per a press release issued by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), Misbah said: “The quarantine in Jamaica post the West Indies series provided me with an opportunity to reflect on the past 24 months as well as the schedule for international cricket ahead. Considering that I would have had to continue to spend considerable time away from my family and that too in a bio-secure environment, I have decided to step down from the role.
“I understand that the timing may not be ideal but I don’t think I am in the right frame of mind for the upcoming challenges and it makes sense for someone fresh to step in and take the side forward.
The PCB press release has Younis quoted as saying: “After Misbah shared with me his decision and future plans, it was a straightforward one for me to resign as we had walked into the roles together, had worked as a pair and now also step down together.
“Working with the Pakistan bowlers, including the youngsters, has been most satisfying as they have now started to show progress. Bio-secure environments in the past 16 months have had their impact, something we had never experienced during our playing days.
Replacements announced.
While other teams are busy finalizing squads and preparations for the T20 World Cup in UAE, Pakistan is left to put together a coaching unit for their national team. PCB recently announced its 15 man squad for the world event and have now named interm coaches for the upcoming New Zealand series.
Legendary off spinner Saqlain Mustaq and former all rounder Abdul Razaq have been named as coaches for the series against Kiwis.
Coaches ready to step up
PCB chief executive Wasim Khan said replacements were ready to “step up” and were looking forward to making important contributions in their coaching roles against New Zealand.
Saqlain is the Head of International Player Development at the National High Performance Centre, while Abdul Razzaq’s domestic side [Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, but he had shifted to Central Punjab after that] won three titles in the 2020-21 season.
“Both Saqlain and Razzaq are ready to step-up and are very much looking forward to making important contributions in their coaching roles against New Zealand.” Khan said
