LAHORE: Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) on Thursday appointed former captain Younis Khan as the batting coach for men’s team till the 2022 T20 World Cup in Australia.
The appointment comes after the T20 world cup winning captain travelled to England with the Pakistani team in the summer. The upcoming New Zealand tour will be the first assignment for Younis as permanent batting coach.
“I am pleased to join the Pakistan cricket set-up on a long-term basis. I felt honoured when I was given the opportunity this summer and thoroughly enjoyed my time, and I now look forward to continuing the work with the same group of people on an important tour of New Zealand,” Younis was quoted in a statement issued by the PCB.
The PCB said that Younis will be working at the Hanif Mohammad High Performance Centre in Karachi as a batting coach when he will not be with the national team. It also stated that the work programme will also be developed for Younis with the National High Performance team.
Talking about the extension in his role, Younis said he was “happy” that his “scope of work” has been extended. He added that he was “keen” with working at the domestic level by “identifying potential batsmen and then helping them improve their skills”.
“I want to remind all fans and followers that there is a process to achieve excellence and while some improvements can be noticed quickly, this will require lots of hard work, perseverance and patience before the required skills are embedded and start producing consistent results,” said the country’s highest Test run-getter.
PCB Chief Executive Wasim Khan expressed his delight that Younis will be working as the national team’s batting coach for the next two years.
“The feedback we received about Younis’ impact in a short period of time in England was excellent,” explained Wasim. He also lauded the former skipper for his “work ethics, commitment and knowledge”.
“I am confident that his appointment will benefit a number of talented batsmen who have either recently broken into the national side or are knocking on the door of international cricket,” said the PCB official.
Wasim explained that Younis’ appointment at the high performance centre was part of the PCB’s strategy to appoint “highly-qualified and respected coaches across all major centres of the country”. He added that this was being done so that the country cane start “producing cricketers who can represent Pakistan with distinction”.
