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| “I am extremely pleased to have been selected as the head coach. My immediate aim would be to prepare the team for the upcoming busy cricket season," Younis said. PHOTO: AFP/FILE |
Sethi had told The Express Tribune in an exclusive interview published on May 2 that Younis had been given a two-year contract.
According to a PCB media release, the former Test captain, who also coached the national team during the 2011 World Cup, will join the team in June.
The release stated: “A committee constituted by PCB comprising of Mr Intikhab Alam (Director Domestic Cricket Operations), Mr Haroon Rashid (Director Game Development) and Mr Moin Khan (Chief Selector) met today to review the applications received for the position of Head Coach. The Committee unanimously recommended Waqar Younis for the position of head coach which has been endorsed by Chairman PCB.”
Younis, who played 87-Tests for Pakistan in a career spanning 14 years, expressed his pleasure at the announcement.
“I am extremely pleased to have been selected as the head coach. My immediate aim would be to prepare the team for the upcoming busy cricket season including the next year’s ICC Cricket World Cup in Australia and New Zealand,” he said.
Younis is currently in India on an assignment connected to the on-going Indian Premier League (IPL).
Before taking over as the head coach in 2010, Younis had worked as bowling coach for Pakistan on short stints.
First tenure a mixed bag
The former PCB Chairman Ijaz Butt appointed him the coach before the Asia Cup following the ignominious tour of Australia, where the Pakistan team led by Mohammad Yousuf lost all nine international matches (three Tests, five ODIs, and one T20).
After failing to make it to the finals of the Asia Cup, Pakistan embarked on a gruelling tour of England where all hell broke loose (spot fixing scandal involving Salman Butt, Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Aamir).
The young team did end a 16-year losing streak against Australia by beating them in a thrilling Test match in Leeds, England, though won the Test series 3-1 before winning the hotly contested ODI series 3-2.
During his tenure, Pakistan won a Test and an ODI series against New Zealand before the World Cup, in their own conditions after narrowly losing an absorbing series against South Africa in the UAE.
The men in green also made it to the semi-finals of the premier event before bowing out to eventual champions India in Mohali.
Waqar and his team squared a Test series with West Indies in the own backyard besides winning the ODI series, however he developed serious differences with captain Shahid Afridi during the tour which led to Afridi’s sacking.
Younis also left the job after the tour of Zimbabwe a few months later, citing ill-health as the reason.
The duo claim to have moved on from the clash and are hoping to deliver for the national team again, chief selector and manager Moin Khan was also reportedly in favour of Younis’s appointment as head coach and has vowed to work with the fast bowling legend for the betterment of the team.
