After Waqar Younis stepped down as the head coach of the Pakistan Cricket Team, it seems that the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) is in a mood to waste no time in the search of his successor.
On its official twitter handle, the apex board has released a notification regarding the requirement of a new coach for the cricket team and has clearly demarcated the roles and responsibilities that the individual would be required to undertake.
The board has also laid down certain prerequisites for the applicants, and by the looks of it, it seems that the officials are looking for someone with a substantial international experience.
The web page of the PCB’s official website that contains the aforementioned notification has listed under the ‘requirements’ section 'at least 5 years of experience with an international team/ international players’ as one of the conditions.
Also, the notification mentions, international/ Test cricketers would be given preference, along with first-class cricketers with more than 10 years of experience.
This comes as an innovative move, as rarely in the history of cricket teams do we find a job opening posted for the role of the head coach and a selection process put in place to recruit the right person for the job.
Interested candidates are directed to apply for the post with their CVs latest by April 25, 2016. Thereafter, shortlisted candidates from those who would have applied would be called for an interview.
This is a welcome step by the PCB, as it would make the selection process more transparent and open, and the Pakistani cricketing fraternity would now know about the criteria based on which the national team’s coach is selected.
The Pakistan cricket team has been going through a tough phase off late, both on and off the field. They failed to do well in the Asia Cup held in March in Bangladesh, whereas they managed to win just one game out of four in the ICC World T20 2016.
Under fire from all corners over his captaincy and his place in the side, Shahid Afridi has already resigned from the post of the captain of the T20 side, and Sarfraz Ahmed has been named as his successor.
Off the field too, there has been a flurry of blame games going on, with the former coach Younis, along with team manager Intikhab Alam slamming Afridi over his leadership skills.
In a leaked team report submitted by Younis to the PCB, much to the disappointment of the former cricketer, Afridi was accused of not attending team meetings and practice sessions amongst other things.
Alam had hailed Afridi as a ‘clueless captain.’
In the light of these events, this move comes as a positive one from the PCB, as it aims at putting in place a new coach as soon as possible in order to help Pakistan Cricket revive from the recent disappointments, and utilize the break from international cricket for the improvement of the team and the players.
The official notification can be viewed here.
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