Karachi, Dec 9 (Inditop.com) The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Wednesday appointed former fast bowler Waqar Younis as the new bowling and fielding coach for the team’s tough tour of Australia starting later this month.
A former Pakistan captain, Waqar is currently a busy TV commentator but according to sources he is considering to take a break from his TV career to pursue coaching on a long-term basis.
Pakistan are scheduled to play three Tests, five one-day internationals and a twenty20 game against Australia, completing its Test tour of New Zealand next week.
Waqar’s appointment comes in the wake of a disappointing performance by Pakistan in their first Test against New Zealand in Dunedin to lose a close match.
Pakistan leveled the series 1-1 in Wellington but their fielding was awful in the second Test as well, which was won largely due to the accuracy and persistence of their bowling attack.
This will be Waqar’s second stint as coach. His first tenure – between March 2006 and January 2007 – ended on acrimonious terms with the PCB, as he was unhappy with the board’s decision to retain him only for the Test series against South Africa and not the subsequent ODI series.
Waqar’s first stint was widely seen to be a successful and popular one. Umar Gul and Rana Naved-ul-Hasan, among others, spoke openly of the benefits he had brought to the field.