Islamabad
Batting legend Javed Miandad on Friday asked Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) to appoint a specialized batting coach to end Pakistan’s woes in the department. “I think the Board has overburdened Misbah by assigning him the dual responsibilities of Head Coach of all formats and Chief Selector. The board needs to be a bit realistic and think out of the box by appointing a specialized batting coach,” he told APP. Referring to his own nephew Faisal Iqbal, Miandad said that the Board had a best choice in the form of Faisal.
“I think the Board was reluctant to hire Faisal due to his relationship with me. But if you speak on merit, he deserves to serve as Pakistan’s Batting Coach,” he said and added Misbah needs someone like Faisal to assist him in batsmen’s coaching. Pakistan team suffered major defeat in all three departments when was whitewashed by Sri Lanka 0-3 in the Twenty20 home series.
“Faisal had done coaching courses from England and is the best possible option for the Batting Coach position,” Miandad said, who played for Pakistan in Tests and ODIs between 1975 and 1996. Faisal had also applied for the position when PCB advertised for the posts of Head Coach, Bowling Coach and Batting Coach.
The legendary batsman also urged PCB to hire the services of former cricket greats at regional level to train budding players. “We need to give authority to our local greats who can pass on their skills in the best possible manner to the players at regional level,” he said. Miandad, who was inducted into the ICC Cricket Hall of Fame in 2009, said PCB must focus on improving the regional cricket. “A player when comes in the team is mature and cannot learn the way a grooming youngster can at regional level,” he said. Miandad, who had scored 8,832 runs in 124 Tests, said he used to teach techniques to Inzamam ul Haq and other players when was attached with the team.APP
