The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) committee, formed to finalise the bowling coach, has announced that it will convene a meeting this week to shortlist candidates ahead of the Sri Lanka series. As Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) confirmed the itinerary for the Pakistan series, which comprises two Twenty20s, five One-Day Internationals (ODI) and three Tests, the PCB is also gearing up in finalising the preparations for the tour. Intikhab Alam, who heads the coach-hunt committee, said that the new bowling coach will be named before the Sri Lanka tour. “We’ll convene a meeting this week,” Alam told reporters. “It will be crucial since we’ll shortlist the candidates. Hopefully, we’ll complete the process and announce the coach within a couple of weeks.”
The post was left vacant following Aqib Javed’s move to become the UAE head coach after the England series. Pakistan then featured in the Asia Cup without a bowling coach with Sarfraz Nawaz holding a brief camp for the pacemen before the team’s departure to Dhaka. Despite the triumph, a poor performance by the pacemen led to calls for the quick appointment of a bowling coach but Alam hinted that the new appointee should be able to get enough time with the team in the training camp ahead of the Sri Lanka series. Around 11 candidates have applied for the post. According to reports, the list includes Ian Pont, a former Bangladesh bowling coach, Bazeegh Zaka, the Maldives coach, and former Pakistan players Jalaluddin, Mohsin Kamal, Sabih Azhar and Mohammad Akram and Mushtaq Ahmed. Alam said the committee will ‘finalise the best candidate irrespective of nationality’.
