The Pakistan Cricket Board has roped in former first-class cricketer Shahid Aslam as Pakistan's white-ball batting coach after the batters struggled in the recent white-ball series against Australia. Aslam has been added to the backroom staff on the recommendation of the newly-appointed interim head coach Aaqib Javed.
Aslam has worked with the Pakistan team for several years in different capacities from assistant coach, fielding coach and assistant manager. He was working in a coaching role at the High Performance Centre in Lahore for the last two years.
Former Test skipper Mohammad Yousuf was previously working with the national team as a batting coach before being added in the national selection committee. Yousuf had then stepped down as selector and also as the batting coach. He served in the High Performance Centre before handing his resignation from his position. However, Yousuf's resignation was rejected by the PCB.
The Pakistan Board on Monday named Aaqib as their interim head coach until the Champions Trophy 2025. Javed takes over the role after red-ball coach Jason Gillespie turned down a chance to become an all-format coach. Gary Kirsten was the white-ball coach of Pakistan but he stepped down a little ago. Former Australian bowler and Pakistan's red-ball coach Gillespie has bestowed the responsibility of the white-ball coach for the Australia series.
"The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) today announced the appointment of Aqib Javed, a former international fast bowler, as the interim head coach of the Pakistan men’s cricket team until the ICC Champions Trophy 2025," the PCB wrote in a statement on November 18.
Pakistan recently played against Australia in six white-ball games. They won the ODI series 2-1 but suffered a 3-0 series sweep in the T20I leg of the tournament. The bowlers displayed brilliant performance but the batters faltered, especially in the T20Is.
The Men in Green now travel to Zimbabwe for another six-match white-ball series. They will lock horns against the Chevrons in three ODIs from November 24 onwards, followed by the T20I series from December 1.
