LAHORE – Former Pakistan captain Javed Miandad has turned down an offer from the PCB to take over as the batting coach of the national team. The PCB DG confirmed that he had informed the board that he would not be able to immediately join the team and accompany them on the tour to the West Indies because of prior commitments.
“As it is, I believe you cannot change the technique or style of a batsman once he is in the national team. I think the main job of the batting coach is to guide the batsmen in different matches on how to adjust to different pitches and how to counter specific opposing bowlers,” Miandad said. “I am committed for a few months but I am there to guide the players in the training camp and work with the youngsters in the National Cricket Academy,” Miandad added.
However, sources close to Miandad said that he was not comfortable with the idea of working in a support staff team headed by Waqar Younis. “Miandad believes that if he is to be successful as a batting coach he will require independence to implement his plans,” the source said. “Miandad, being a very senior player, obviously wants certain powers to work as batting coach,” he added.
The board offered the position to Miandad after a meeting between Chairman PCB Ijaz Butt and Shahid Afridi. Afridi had said the team needed a batting coach to sort out the batting issues and he believed there was no better person for this post than Javed Miandad.
