LAHORE: Pakistan will announce new set of coaches for red and white ball formats for the national team by the end of this month, an official of the country’s cricket board official told the Press Trust of India news agency on Friday.

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) also confirmed that besides South Africa’s Gary Kirsten and Australia’s Jason Gillispie, the board had received applications from a couple of reputed coaches by the April 15 deadline.

The PCB official said that while they are interested in Kirsten and Gillispie, the new applicants are also in the fray.

“The PCB chairman, Mohsin Naqvi has made it clear that the long-term appointments of coaches will be done through a due process and all commitments would be met by the board,” the source added.

The last time PCB followed due process in appointing coaches was in 2019 when it named Misbah-ul-Haq as the head coach and chief selector of the national side. Since then, all appointments have either been made on a consultancy or interim basis.

Another reliable source in the PCB said that this time, the board would only invite those candidates for interviews who apply for the coaching positions.

“Even in Kirsten and Gillispie’s case though, the board has held direct negotiations with them, and they remain top candidates to be appointed head coaches, they were also told to apply through due process by the deadline,” the source said.

He admitted that with some interesting candidates have also applied for the head coach’s position, the PCB will require time till the end of the month to reach a decision and make an announcement.

“The PCB chief doesn’t want names disclosed at any stage, and names would only be revealed once announcements are made,” stated the source.

The PCB has also kept April 20 as the deadline for candidates interested in applying for assistant coaches positions.

“Even Azhar Mahmood has to go through the process, and currently, he was named head coach for the New Zealand series on a consultancy basis,” the source added.

Published in Dawn, April 20th, 2024