Five foreigners apply for Pak coaches` job

Karachi: The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) on Saturday said five foreigners have applied for the positions of head coach, batting coach and fielding coach for the national cricket team.

The five applications include Richard Pybus, who has earlier also served Pakistan team twice. "The deadline for applying for these posts was extended to Saturday," a board official said. The PCB said that it would announce the names of the successful candidates next week after a meeting of the coaching committee on Sunday in Islamabad. Pakistan is searching for a head coach, batting coach and fielding coach after Australian Dav Whatmore left this month after serving for two years as head coach while Englishman Julian Fountain also stepped down as fielding coach. "The list of candidates, who have applied for the coaching positions, has some impressive names but no decision has been taken on whether the coaching committee will consider a foreigner for the post of head coach or batting coach," a source close to the committee said. The committee includes former captains -- Wasim Akram, Intikhab Alam and Javed Miandad -- and the director cricket operations of the board, Subhan Ahmad. Besides the foreigners, the source said that former Pakistan skipper Waqar Younis, who had worked as head coach in the past before resigning in 2011, and Mohsin Khan, who was removed to appoint Whatmore after a successful period of six months as interim coach, have both applied for the head coach`s position. "They are strong candidates and Waqar, in fact, has flown down to Lahore for an interview with the committee on Sunday. The committee is expected to interview the local candidates in person or on telephone, while the foreigners will be interviewed on video link," the source added. Committee members Wasim and Miandad have already voiced their support for having a local head coach and batting coach. The source said former Test players -- Jalaluddin, Ejaz Ahmed, Shoaib Muhammad, Asif Mujtaba -- had also applied for the coaching positions. "If the committee wants it can also talk to any other feasible candidate directly who has not applied for the post," the source added. PCB chief Zaka Ashraf has said he wants the new coaches to be appointed by February 11, so that the new coaching panel gets time to work with the team before its leaves for the Asia Cup in Bangladesh.