Akhtar takes a playful dig at Misbah after his appointment as Pakistan head coach and chief selector

Former Pakistan cricketer Shoaib Akhtar took a friendly dig at former teammate Misbah-ul-Haq after he was appointed as the head coach and chief selector of the national team. The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) confirmed on Wednesday that Mishbah will take charge of the team with former pacer Waqar Younis becoming the new bowling coach. Following his appointment, Akhtar joked he was surprised Misbah wasn’t named as president of their cricket board after he took over the other two high-profile jobs.

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Akhtar’s post read: “Congratulations to @captainmisbahpk for the new ‘dual’ role of Head Coach as well as Chief Selector for Pakistan Cricket Team. I am surprised he is not appointed the Chairman PCB as well along with it. Hahahaha. i am just kidding. I really hope he does wonders like before.” 

After his appointment, Misbah emphasised that dressing room culture needs a complete overhaul and the revamp of cricket structure in the country will take some time.

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“As a coach, or a leader, what one wants is to have such a great team that they instantly dominate the match and put pressure on the opposition. But that is the ideal situation. In real life one has to strategies based on the kind of players available, I will be doing the same,” Misbah said.

“Of course, the ultimate goal is to have a very strong team at the end but we have to begin with what we have. The revamping of the cricket structure will take some time,” he added.

The selection committee will have six other members — the head coaches of provincial cricket associations in the new domestic structure.

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The six coaches are former Test players, Arshad Khan, Azam Khan, Ijaz Ahmed junior, Kabir Khan, Muhammad Wasim and Abdul Rehman who has not played international cricket but is one of the most successful coaches at domestic level and in PSL.

The Misbah-Waqar duo’s first test will be the upcoming One-day International and Twenty20 home series against Sri Lanka, which will be played from September 27 to October 9.

((With agency inputs))