Iqbal appointed Pak Women’s batting coach

LAHORE: Former first-class cricketer Iqbal Imam on Monday replaced Andy Richards as the new batting coach of Pakistan Women.

A statement from the PCB said Imam’s appointment had been made "in light of the PCB’s vision and strategy to invest further into women’s cricket and to help the women batters improve on their overall performance and become one of top performing sides in the world".

Imam takes charge of the batting with a stellar coaching resume behind him.He is currently the head coach of the Karachi region, and was one of Sharjeel Khan’s coaches when he made his international debut, with both hailing from Hyderabad. He had also served as the assistant coach of the Pakistan A team, the Under-19 team and the women’s U-17 team.

In a 15-year domestic career, Imam played 262 first-class and List-A games, scoring 8,439 runs and taking 219 wickets with his right-arm off-breaks.He will join the team’s training camp in Karachi, which begins on Tuesday (today) under head coach Mark Coles for the upcoming ICC Championship fixture against South Africa.

They depart for South Africa on April 29 for three ODIs on May 6, 9 and 12, which will be followed by five T20Is on May 15, 18, 19, 22 and 23. PCB managing director Wasim Khan said: "Iqbal is a hardworking and committed batting coach who fits perfectly in the PCB’s vision for women’s cricket, which is to provide them with skilled individuals who will add significant value to both their development and performances.

"Iqbal’s appointment is also testament to the PCB’s commitment to reward and promote all the top performers, while also creating merit-based coaching opportunities for talented Pakistani coaches."