Waqar Younis, the former Pakistan fast bowler, captain and coach, will be joining Sunrisers Hyderabad as a bowling consultant for the 2013 IPL season.
According to cricinfo, Waqar will be the second Pakistani bowling coach in the IPL, following the footsteps of his former new-ball partner Wasim Akram, who has performed the same role with defending champions Kolkata Knight Riders since 2010. Akram, though, has taken a break this season.
Former Australia allrounder Tom Moody, who is the Sunrisers’ head coach, was active in hiring Waqar, who is based in Sydney. “Tom is a fine buddy since our playing days and he asked me if I could come and help and I accepted the offer,” Waqar told ESPNcricinfo. “I want to go and have a feel about it and how it works.”
After he stepped down as Pakistan’s head coach in September 2011, Waqar coached Ruhuna Royals in the inaugural Sri Lanka Premier League last year. During his stint as Pakistan coach, Waqar was instrumental in leading Pakistan to the semi-finals of the 2010 World Twenty20 in the West Indies where they were silenced by Michael Hussey’s heroics late in the match.
Waqar said the IPL job would be a good challenge. “I am going to go the way I go about things. It will be a good experience for me also to interact with a lot of fast bowlers.” And he has already set himself a goal: working closely with the Indian fast bowler Ishant Sharma. “I am really excited to work with Ishant Sharma. He can be a better bowler than he is.”
Dale Steyn, Clint McKay, Sudeep Tyagi are some of the other quick bowlers in the Sunrisers squad, who are bound to benefit from Waqar’s vast experience.
“We hope Waqar’s experience and Steyn’s expertise will help our bowlers restrict the opposition batsmen’s charge and reduce the pressure on our batsmen,” a Sunrisers’ official said on Waqar’s appointment.
Last October, the Sunrisers replaced Deccan Chargers in the IPL after the BCCI had terminated the contract with Deccan Chronicles Holdings Ltd (owners of the Chargers), due to a prolonged financial crisis. Sun TV network successfully bid for the franchise rights for 85.05 crores per year (approx $15.9m) for a five-year deal.
Sunrisers Hyderabad Squad: Akshath Reddy, Amit Mishra, Anand Rajan, Ankit Sharma, Ashish Reddy, Biplab Samantray, Cameron White, Chris Lynn, Clint McKay, Dale Steyn, Darren Sammy, Dwaraka Ravi Teja, Hanuma Vihari, Ishant Sharma, JP Duminy (currently injured), Karan Sharma, Kumar Sangakkara, Nathan McCullum, Parthiv Patel, Quinton de Kock, Sachin Rana, Shikhar Dhawan, Sudeep Tyagi, Thalaivan Sargunam, Thisara Perera, Veer Pratap Singh.