Saqlain Mushtaq Leading The Race To Become Pakistan Head Coach For T20 World Cup 2021
Former Pakistan cricketer Saqlain Mushtaq is reportedly the frontrunner to become the head coach of the Pakistan cricket team for the upcoming T20 World Cup 2021. Former coach Misbah-ul-Haq had stepped down from the role after the appointment of Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman, Ramiz Raja.
Earlier, PCB had appointed former Aussie batsman, Matthew Hayden, and former South African pacer, Vernon Philander as consultant coaches for the ICC event. Ramiz had stated a homegrown coach to take over the reins and Mushtaq is his leading choice.
The decision on the head coach will be taken by this weekend as the World Cup isn’t far away. The new coach will have to acclimatize to the team before entering such a major tournament. And that’s the reason why the resignation of Misbah came as a big surprise to the fans.
Sources have claimed that Mushtaq met with Ramiz on Wednesday to discuss the matter. Mushtaq and Abdul Razzaq were appointed as the interim coaches for the New Zealand tour of Pakistan earlier this month which was later abandoned by the Black Caps.
Meanwhile, Philander will reach Lahore on October 6 and will depart for Dubai with the squad. They are scheduled to fly out from Lahore to the UAE on October 15. As for Hayden, he is part of the IPL commentary team and will meet up with the squad after they land in Dubai.
Wasim Khan resigns as Pakistan Cricket Board’s CEO
Yesterday, the PCB was also dealt a big blow when its CEO, Wasim Khan, decided to step down ahead of the T20 World Cup. He was hired on a three-year contract in 2019 and had managed to make a lot of progress in Pakistan cricket.
Unfortunately, he tended his resignation on Wednesday. The PCB hasn’t issued a reason for Wasim’s decision but many believe it could be due to differences with Ramiz Raja.
Pakistan squad for T20 World Cup 2021
Babar Azam (C), Shadab Khan, Asif Ali, Azam Khan, Haris Rauf, Hasan Ali, Imad Wasim, Khushdil Shah, Mohammad Hafeez, Mohammad Hasnain, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Rizwan, Mohammad Wasim Jr, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Sohaib Maqsood.
Traveling reserves– Fakhar Zaman , Shahnawaz Dahani and Usman Qadir.
