September 10, 2002	Tuesday	Rajab 2, 1423

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KARACHI, Sept 9: Changes in the Pakistan team management looked inevitable after Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB)’s king-maker Ramiz Raja was reportedly assigned the task of finding a new foreign coach for the team.

Ramiz was given over the assignment during the Nairobi tournament and has been told to get the coach before the team embarks on the African safari on Nov 1.

Pakistan play four Tests and 10 One-day Internationals in Zimbabwe and South Africa until Jan 6 before taking on Australia on Feb 9 in their opening World Cup fixture at Johannesburg.

Yawar Saeed, the team manager, is all set to make way for another official after he was accused of spoiling the team’s harmony and unity.

Aamir Siddique, the thought leader, and Sikander Bakht, the team analyst, have already been released from the ICC Champions Trophy squad.

Ramiz, working as commentator in Colombo, has been instructed to search for a coach who is willing to work in Pakistan despite foreign teams reluctance to visit here because of fears for players security.

Six weeks ago, Australian Trevor Chappell defied all odds when he came to Pakistan to coach the regional academy boys on a 10-day assignment.

The Pakistan team will return home barely for a week after completing the third Test against Australia at Sharjah on Oct 23.

Insiders said the PCB decided to opt for change after some of the senior boys, including skipper Waqar Younis, developed serious differences with the former Test opener on several issues, which also includes team composition.

The situation turned sour prior to the last two games in Nairobi when Waqar conducted team’s practice and training while Mudassar was confined to side lines.

Waqar and Mudassar have a history of differences which first surfaced during the Asian Test Championship final against Sri Lanka.

The Pakistan team management faces accusations of poorly handling the squad and playing musical chairs with the openers. In nine matches, no less than half a dozen different combinations have been tried while Shahid Afridi has been demoted as a lower order batsmen.

If Mudassar is shown the door, he will be the seventh coach in less than five years to get the boot. Previously, Haroon Rasheed, Javed Miandad (twice), Richard Pybus (twice), Mushtaq Mohammad and Intikhab Alam failed to complete their tenures.