The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) is set to appoint former cricketer Yasir Arafat as the assistant and bowling coach of the national men’s cricket team. In the absence of Mickey Arthur, who is likely to become the team's director, Arafat will head the coaching staff. Mickey Arthur won’t be with the team on every tour, as he will continue to work full-time with English county side Derbyshire.
Arthur previously served as the head coach of the Pakistan cricket team for three years from 2016. However, the PCB decided not to renew his contract and that of his support staff after the team's fifth-place finish at the ICC Men's Cricket World Cup 2019. Najam Sethi, the chairman of the PCB Management Committee, believes that Arthur is capable enough to manage the team with a coaching staff of his choice.
After getting the approval to choose his coaching staff, Arthur recommended Yasir Arafat as his assistant. The 40-year-old recently received a level four specialist coach degree from the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB). During his brief international cricket career, Arafat played three Tests, 11 ODIs and 13 T20Is for Pakistan. He made his Test debut against Sri Lanka in Karachi in 2000.
As a player, Yasir Arafat had an impressive record, taking over 1,400 wickets and scoring more than 11,000 runs in all forms of cricket. He has extensive coaching experience, having worked for teams such as the Perth Scorchers in the Big Bash League and Surrey in County Cricket. With this appointment, the PCB is hoping to take the national men's cricket team to new heights.
Also, see: