PCB announces Aaqib Javed as interim white-ball head coach
Sri Lanka rope in Pakistan's Aaqib Javed as fast-bowling coach for T20 WC
The Pakistan Cricket Board's (PCB) musical chair with coaches continues with Aaqib Javed being the newest entrant in the fold. The PCB, on Monday (Nov. 18), announced Javed as the new interim white-ball coach. Javed will keep the position till Champions Trophy next year.
The development comes a day after PCB refuted a report by ESPNCricinfo that Javed will be replacing Test coach Jason Gillespie as Pakistan's all-format coach. Ever since Pakistan's white-ball coach Gary Kirsten quit last month after being six months into the job, Gillespie has been doing the additional duties.
"During this tenure, Aqib will continue to serve as a senior member of the men’s National Selection Committee, and will be assigned additional responsibilities following the conclusion of the eight-team tournament," read the statement by the board.
"Meanwhile, the PCB will initiate the recruitment process for a permanent white-ball head coach, aiming to complete the appointment by the end of the ICC Champions Trophy scheduled from 19 February to 9 March," it further added.
Pakistan cricket's drama around coaches began shortly after Pakistan's exit from the ODI World Cup 2023 last year when they failed to make it to the semi-finals.
Team director Mickey Arthur and coach Grant Bradburn were let go, and Mohammad Hafeez took over on the tour of Australia, where they lost miserably.
Then theywent ahead with Kirsten as white-ball coach and Gillespie in the red-ball format. Kirsten, however, decided to put down the papers in October last month without coaching the team in a single ODI amid drama around the selection committee and captains.
Gillespie, on the other hand, stayed on the job and was given the charge of white-ball teams on an interim basis.
As for Javed, his rise has been fast in Pakistan cricket in the last few months. He was the apparent mastermind behind spin pitches in the last two Tests against England at home, which Pakistan won after losing the first Test. He was also named in the selection committee last month in an overhaul that didn't go well with the coaches.
