The hunt for new coach of Pakistan team has been temporarily put on hold. The search for the successor of Waqar Younis, who quit the job recently, will resume after the new Pakistan Cricket Board chief takes charge of his office. “For the time being, there is no activity on that front,” said a spokesman of the PCB. New PCB chief Zaka Ashraf has not yet been relieved of his duties in the ZTBL.
“He will take a call on all pending issues once he joins the office,” the spokesman said. There are believed to be five candidates in the fray for the coach’s position and one of them is Dave Whatmore while Miky Arthur is another candidate the PCB is likely to approach. Although Whatmore’s name has not found mention in the media, the former National Cricket Academy (NCA) coach, currently the coaching director of Kolkata Knight Riders, was in advance talks with the PCB authorities. Before a change was effected at the helm of the PCB, Whatmore had held talks with the previous dispensation of the PCB. If sources were to be believed, he was to meet the PCB officials for finalisation of his contract.
In fact, the meeting was scheduled for Sunday (October 16) in Dubai. With Ijaz Butt out of office, the PCB has called off all scheduled meetings till the new chief takes charge. Whatmore has maintained a stoic silence. The World Cup-winning former Sri Lanka coach, who had coached Bangladesh team before taking over as the chief coach of the NCA in Bangalore, refused to discuss the matter. “No no, nothing like that,” he said before snapping the conversation. With his vast knowledge of the conditions in the sub-continent, Whatmore was thought to be the preferred choice of the Pakistan’s coach selection committee which consists of Intikhab Alam, Zaheer Abbas and Colonel Naushad.
Among others in the fray, reportedly, are Aaqib Javed and Dermot Reeve. Former South African coach, Mickey Arthur, is another option the PCB has in mind. An official of the board confirmed that Arthur was one of the five candidates finalised by the special committee, which was formed by the board to recommend Younis’s replacement. Arthur, a well-known name in international cricket, coached the South Africans from 2005 to 2010 before stepping down due to differences with Cricket South Africa. Arthur had in 2009 also withdrawn from the race for coaching the England team that eventually went to Andy Flower.
“There is a consensus among the committee members that includes former captain Zaheer Abbas, that Arthur has the best profile for the Pakistan team job,” the source said.
