Misbah - Pakistan cricket

Misbah-ul-Huq appointed Pakistan coach and chief selector

Misbah-ul-Huq will become a key power broker in Pakistan cricket after being named head coach and chief selector by the PCB.

The former captain will head a new coaching group after the dismissal of Mickey Arthur following the World Cup.

Misbah will operate in the dual-role with Pakistan legend Waqar Younis agreeing to become bowling coach.

The pair, capped 162 times in Tests, have both signed three-year contracts to take their tenure beyond the 2020 T20 World Cup and the series in England next summer.

“It is very humbling for me to join a select group of some of the very best to have coached the Pakistan national sides in the past,” said Misbah.

“It is an honour, and more than that, a massive responsibility as we live and breathe cricket. I know expectations are high, but I am absolutely ready and up for the task. Otherwise, I would not have thrown my name in the hat for one of the most challenging and coveted roles in Pakistan cricket.

“We have exciting young fast bowlers in our ranks, and there is no better person than Waqar to transform them into modern-day stars.

“Both Waqar and I had a candid and frank discussion, and we discussed and agreed on a number of things, including roles and responsibilities, as well as how to take things forward.”

Misbah was part of a PCB committee which opted against renewing the contracts of Arthur and assistants, Azhar Mahmood, Grant Flower and Grant Luden.

Citing the team’s failure to reach the semi-finals of the Cricket World Cup, Arthur publicised his dismay at the treatment he had received by his former employers.

“I am extremely disappointed and hurt,” he told AFP. “I did my wholehearted effort to lift Pakistan cricket.”

Arthur is now understood to be in the frame to replace England head coach Trevor Bayliss after the Ashes series, with Ottis Gibson and Gary Kirsten also interested.

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