PCB chairman keen to rope in foreigner as head coach

ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has initiated the search for a foreign coach as the news emerging from the PCB Headquarters suggest that talks were underway with aspirants of good repute.

‘The News’ has learnt that PCB Chairman Mohsin Naqvi is still keen to appoint a well-equipped foreigner as the head coach of the national team with some leading local names as his assistants.

“The PCB’s hunt for a foreign coach is still on as the negotiations are underway with some key aspirants who have shown interest in being part of the Pakistan cricket setup. For a brief period, some suggestions were floated aiming at having a local as head coach but these were not given serious consideration. A foreigner most preferably will be the head coach of the national team,” a source told ‘The News’.

The board’s negotiations with Shane Watson broke away in the early stages more due to the fake news of his anticipated salary package. ‘The News’ has learnt that Watson was offered around Rs5 million per month with rumors suggesting that he was asking over Rs20 million per month and that the board was agreed to pay him around that amount. There were also some other complications involved that resulted in the premature end of the negotiations between PCB and Watson.

It is believed that one former international cricketer each from South Africa, England, and Australia is busy negotiating with the PCB for the head coaching job. The three have put forward their conditions and expected package for the PCB to ponder on. “These negotiations are in the early stages. Both the sides are weighing their options. Names of these individuals have not been revealed neither the PCB plans to do so at such an early stage. Once the PCB gets into compete agreement with one of these, the chairman will disclose the name,” the source said. These sources also added that the PCB will wait as long as it can to rope in a foreign coach.

“Foreign coach for the national team is a priority no matter how long it takes. Hopefully, the negotiations will come to a logical conclusion within the next couple of weeks,” the source said. The PCB is keen to have a new head coach before start of the series against New Zealand. New Zealand are scheduled to reach Islamabad on April 14 to play a five-match T20 series. Even if the PCB has to wait for a longer period, it may do that till the time it gets a leading foreign name for the coaching job.