Islamabad: Younis Khan has been appointed as the batting coach of Pakistan men’s cricket team until the 2022 T20 World Cup, scheduled to be held in Australia.Younis had earlier accompanied Pakistan to England this summer and will now continue with his responsibilities for the upcoming series in New Zealand for which the side departs on November 23, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) announced on Thursday.
When not traveling with the national side, he will be based at the Hanif Mohammad High Performance in Karachi as a batting coach. A work program will be developed with the National High Performance team, PCB added.
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 said.
I am particularly happy that my scope of work has been extended beyond the national duties. I am equally interested and keen at working at the domestic level by identifying potential batsmen and then helping them improve their skills, he added.
Younis, scored 10,099 runs at over 52 in 118 Tests; 7,249 runs in 265 ODIs and 442 runs in 25 T20Is. He has scored most Test centuries for Pakistan, 34, while his career-best 313 against Sri Lanka in Karachi in 2009 lifted him to number one position in the ICC rankings. He also captained Pakistan to the T20 World Cup 2009 victory in England.
I am delighted that Younis will now be with for, at least, the next two years as our batting coach. The feedback we received about Younis’ impact in a short period of time in England was excellent. His work ethics, commitment and knowledge are second to none, and 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 PCB Chief Executive Wasim Khan.
The PCB will also be utilising Younis Khan’s expertise and skills when he’s not on national duty as he will help local batsmen hone their skills. This is part of the PCB’s strategy to appoint highly-qualified and respected coaches across all major centres of the country so that we can start producing cricketers who can represent Pakistan with distinction, he added.
Meanwhile, the PCB has also appointed former Test spinner Arshad Khan as Pakistan women’s cricket team’s bowling coach for one year. Arshad played nine Tests and 58 ODIs, taking 32 and 56 wickets, respectively.
Arshad’s appointment has come within a month after former Bermuda and Glamorgan captain David Hemp was appointed head coach of the national side.
This is an excellent opportunity to be working with women cricketers alongside David Hemp as we aim to collectively lift our national team in the upper half of the women’s draw, Arshad said.
When I look around at a big number of former international cricketers involved in the present set-up, it motivates me to not only prove my worth but also justify the faith imposed on me. I now keenly look forward to looking at the available pool of women cricketers in the Women’s National T20 Championship and will then work on a strategy with David on how we move forward. This will be a demanding assignment and I am up for the challenge, he added.