NAPIER: Pakistan cricket team’s head coach Waqar Younis has rubbished reports in the local media claiming he was ready to step down from his post in the wake of a disastrous tour of New Zealand.

New Zealand hammered Pakistan 2-1 in the T20 series before winning the first of three ODI matches convincingly on Monday. With the second ODI lost to rain, Pakistan held a team bonding session, which was termed in some sections of the media as a tense affair after Waqar threatened to quit over a “lack of trust between the management and the players”.

But the 44-year-old former paceman, who is in his second stint as Pakistan coach, said it was ‘unfortunate’ that the media was indulging in irresponsible reporting just as the team was getting ready for the World Twenty20.

“I have no intention of stepping down. It has become a trend in the media to cook up such things when the team is not performing well.”

Waqar said Pakistan were at a ‘crossroads’ and did not need any distractions before the their upcoming challenges.

The former captain said the third ODI between Pakistan and New Zealand would be crucial for his team. “The tour has not turned out as well as we had imagined but New Zealand is always tough. In all the games we were guilty of not finishing well when we got in a good position.”

Published in Dawn, January 30th, 2016