5 reasons why Waqar Younis should be the next bowling coach of Bangladesh 

There was once a time when teams dreaded the prospect of playing against Pakistan. And who wouldn’t? The likes of Imran Khan, Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis always instilled fear in the hearts of the batsmen.

Waqar, in particular, was unplayable for a couple of years in the 90s. I remember being a kid and always wondering why Waqar was the one who got most of the wickets for Pakistan.

Not only did he have pace, he also had the uncanny skill of reverse swinging the ball viciously. It was this ability that allowed him to acquire so many scalps during his time as a cricketer. After retirement, he took up coaching, but as of now, he is not the coach of any national team.

However, that could change if the Bangladesh Cricket Board decide to bring him in to replace the current coach, Courtney Walsh.

And here are 5 reasons why they should...

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#5 Lack of form of pacers

For the last year or so, the pace department of the Bangladesh cricket team have suffered from a huge dip in form. The likes of Taskin Ahmed and Mustafizur Rahman have not even been a shadow of their best selves and it is perhaps time for Bangladesh to completely overhaul their coaching structure and bring in Waqar Younis.

It is not that the talent has faded away, that never really happens, but perhaps the bowlers need a change in coaching methods. While Courtney Walsh has gone out of his way to make the bowlers feel as comfortable as possible, there are certain areas where it looks as though the coach hasn't been able to impart his knowledge on to the bowlers the way he would have liked to.

Both Walsh and Waqar were two of the finest pacers in the 90s, but the Bangladeshi...

#4 Bowlers grew up idolising Waqar

Waqar Younis is a revered figure

Waqar wasn’t only the pride of Pakistan, he was the pride of the entire subcontinent. As Shoaib Akthar put it so frankly in his interview with Gaurav Kapoor, the Pakistanis always believed that the best bowlers in the world were from their nation and an aspiring pacer never had to idolise a foreigner.

Heck, even Walsh's Jamaican compatriot, Usain Bolt, adored Waqar and supported the Pakistan team over West Indies because of him. That's the amount of admiration that Waqar generated in his prime.

This applies to the Bangladeshi bowlers as well, as most of the current generation looked up to Waqar in their formative years. This is not to say that Walsh isn’t regarded highly by the Bangladeshi bowlers – it would be foolish to think that – but the Pakistani pacers of those days spellbound the Asian subcontinent with their tremendous abilities.

As a result, working with Waqar could be more productive for the Tigers as most of the bowlers would be working with their role model, and the fact that Waqar speaks Hindi/Urdu brings in...

#3 Ease of communication

The likes of Mustafizur could communicate better

While the former Pakistan captain can’t communicate in Bangla, the fact that most Bangladeshi people are adept at understanding Hindi/Urdu makes Waqar Younis all the more qualified to be the bowling coach of the team.

Being a Bangladeshi myself, I can claim that I am in a safe position to make such a statement. The number of people that watch Indian daily soaps in this country is quite staggering, to say the least – and it has influenced the people to such an extent that most Bangladeshis understand the language without any problem.

As a result, the former Pakistan coach will not have a problem in getting through to the players and the players themselves will not have a problem in understanding the exact requirements of the coach. This, in turn, will result in a much more productive relationship between the players and the coach and that will only bode well for the team.

#2 Waqar is the master of swing

Waqar in action

There were, and are, very few bowlers who could swing the ball like Waqar Younis. He was one of those bowlers who used late-swing to deceive the batsmen after pitching the ball full. The poor batsmen must have thought that they could hit the ball out of the park because of its full length, but the viciousness of Waqar’s swing always left them embarrassed.

Waqar was the master of swing bowling. It was what allowed him to grab 373 wickets at an average of 23.56 in Tests and 416 wickets in ODIs at an average of 23.86. A reverse swinging delivery is perhaps the deadliest type of ball to face and since Waqar was the master of that art, the Bangladeshi bowlers could benefit from it.

While Courtney Walsh was also one of the best exponents of swing bowling in his prime, he hasn’t been able to impart that knowledge to the Bangladeshi pacers – at least that is what we can infer from their disappointing show in South Africa.

Waqar also may fail to impart that knowledge, but his chances of success are a little more because he has...

#1 Coaching experience

Waqar has coached before

This is where the former Pakistan international defeats the West Indian legend hands down. Post-retirement, Waqar Younis has kept himself busy by coaching Pakistan and the Sunrisers Hyderabad in the Indian Premier League.

His past coaching experience might not have been too fruitful with his row with Shahid Afridi and subsequent resignation from the Pakistan cricket team earning him a lot of criticism, but that still doesn’t erase the fact that his coaching experience would be invaluable to the Bangladesh cricket team.

Bearing in mind only the sporting reasons behind this potential marriage, the possibilities are endless. The 2019 World Cup is just around the corner and the Bangladesh bowling unit needs a complete revamp – and Waqar Younis can give them just that.