Daily Times

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) on Tuesday appointed country’s most successful Test batsman and former captain Younus Khan as the national team’s batting coach for the upcoming tour of England. To help head coach Misbahul Haq and fast bowling coach Waqar Younis, the PCB has also named Mushtaq Ahmed as spin bowling coach to complete an impressive line-up of support staff. Former captain Younus is the only Pakistan batsman in Test cricket’s 10,000-run club, while Mushtaq played 52 Tests before going on to work with teams including England and West Indies. The three-Test and three-T20Is series against England will be played in August-September this year though exact dates and venues are yet to be finalised. “The appointments have been made to provide Misbah and Waqar the necessary and essential resources that can help them further uplift the performance of the side,” a spokesman for the PCB said.

This is Younus’ first appointment with the PCB since his retirement in 2017. The board was earlier interested in roping him in to work at the development level at the National Cricket Academy (NCA) but those talks didn’t materialise. He was recently asked to give a pep talk to players on video during lockdown. Younus scored 10,099 runs at an average of over 52 in 118 Tests from 2000 to 2017. This included a career-best 313 against Sri Lanka in Karachi in 2009, which lifted him to No.1 position in the ICC Player Rankings. Against England, Younus holds an equally impressive record. In 16 innings of nine Tests in England, the champion batsman scored 810 runs at over 50 with two centuries (218 at The Oval in 2016 and 173 at Headingley in 2006) and three half-centuries. In two Tests in Pakistan and six in the United Arab Emirates, he scored a total of 616 runs at just under 50 with two centuries (127 and 118 in Dubai) and one half-century. With 139 catches in Tests, Younus cemented himself as Pakistan’s best fielder and 13th overall in the history of the game.

In a statement, released by the PCB, Younus said: “For me, there has never been a bigger honour and a better feeling than to represent my country and I feel privileged to have been again offered the opportunity to serve it for a challenging but exciting tour of England. The Pakistan side includes some immensely talented cricketers who have the potential to achieve greater heights. Together with Misbah, Mushtaq and Waqar, we will try to make them better and prepare them as best as we can with on and off field coaching and guidance. I have never been shy of sharing my experiences and knowledge, and I think this particular tour provides me with an ideal opportunity where I can spend post-training time with the players to engage with them on batting techniques, bowler assessments, mental toughness exercises besides talking them through with scenario planning. We all know English conditions demand not only precise technique but patience and discipline, and if you can master these, then you will not only excel in England but anywhere in the world. With the quality we have in the team, I think we have a good chance to produce good results if we prepare properly, get our processes right and hit the ground running as soon as we land..”

Misbah, who had retired with Younus three years ago, said he was looking forward to reuniting with his former team-mate in the dressing room. Misbah was acting as the batting coach since the position was left vacant by Grant Flower. Earlier, Shahid Aslam, a Level 4 coach, was part of the coaching staff, acting as an assistant to Misbah in the nets for the players. Mansoor Rana, an experienced coach, was also part of the support staff but was largely working as the team manager only. With players set to train in a bio-secure environment and unprecedented standard operating procedures, Pakistan were falling short of coaching hands in the nets. They were also without a fielding coach after Grant Bradburn had taken over an in-house non-travelling role as head of high-performance coaching. “We know each other better than most think as we have worked hand in glove in the past decade to contribute in some of Pakistan’s most historic and memorable Test wins,” Misbah said. “With the reputation and record Younus brings with him not only as a disciplined and hardworking batsman but also as an athletic fielder and a strategist, I see this as a great opportunity for our young players to hone their skills and learn how to make the transition from a good to a great cricketer. Younus as well as Mushtaq clearly tick all these and additional boxes, which will assist us in achieving our targets.”

PCB Chief Executive Wasim Khan said: “I am delighted that someone of the stature and incredible batting record of Younus has agreed to join the Pakistan cricket set-up as national men’s team batting coach. Younus’ work ethics, commitment to match preparation, game awareness and tactics in the English conditions will be invaluable. He is a role model to a number of current players and is hugely respected. I have no doubt that the squad will benefit from the immense value that he will bring, both on and off the field. Mushtaq knows the English conditions as well as anyone, having spent a lot of time playing county cricket and working with the England cricket team. Apart from guiding the spinners and playing a mentor’s role, Mushtaq can be helpful to Misbah and Waqar in match planning and preparations.”