Misbah-ul-Haq and Waqar Younis have resigned from their respective roles and communicated their decisions to the PCB on Monday.
Pakistan Head Coach, Misbah-ul-Haq, and Bowling Coach, Waqar Younis have stepped down from their duties, confirmed by PCB on Monday.
Their decision to leave their roles comes only a few hours after the squad for the upcoming ICC T20 World Cup was announced.
The former Pakistan cricketers were appointed in September 2019 and still had a year each left in their contracts.
The PCB has appointed Saqlain Mushtaq and Abdul Razzaq as interim coaches for the upcoming series against England and New Zealand.
PCB confirmed that the support staff for the ICC T20 World Cup will be appointed soon.
Misbah claimed that the decision to step down from his role was because he wanted to spend more time with his family.
“The quarantine in Jamaica post the West Indies series provided me with an opportunity to reflect on the past 24 months as well as the schedule for international cricket ahead. Considering that I would have had to continue to spend considerable time away from my family and that too in a bio-secure environment, I have decided to step down from the role.
“I understand that the timing may not be ideal but I don’t think I am in the right frame of mind for the upcoming challenges and it makes sense for someone fresh to step in and takes the side forward.
“The past 24 months have been thoroughly enjoyable and I want to thank my team and the management for their support. I wish the Pakistan cricket team best of luck in the upcoming events and will continue to support them every time they will take the field to represent Pakistan.”
Waqar, on the other hand, said:
“After Misbah shared with me his decision and plans, it was a straightforward one for me to resign as we had walked into the roles together, had worked collectively as a pair and now also step down together.
“Working with the Pakistan bowlers, including the youngsters, has been most satisfying as they have now started to show progress. Bio-secure environments in the past 16 months have had their impact, something we had never experienced during our playing days.
“The next eight months will be busy and exciting for the Pakistan team and, like in the past, I will continue to back and cheer them. I want to thank every member of the Pakistan cricket team set-up as we stayed united in good and bad days, and hope there will be brighter days ahead.”
PCB’s CEO, Wasim Khan also shared his view on this sudden resignation from both the experienced coaches. He said that PCB thank both Misbah and Waqar for their sincere services and they also honour their decisions.
“The PCB understands and respects Misbah’s decision. Cricket in this unprecedented bio-secure world has not been easy for anyone and Misbah has taken into account the intense six months of non-stop cricket ahead,”
Wasim, the PCB CEO, said.
“In the past 24 months, Misbah has given his very best to the team and we wish him well in his future endeavours. It has been an honourable decision by Waqar and we thank him sincerely for his immense work and commitment over the past two years and wish him the very best in the future.
“Both Misbah and Waqar have given so much to Pakistan cricket over a long period and for that, they deserve a huge amount of respect”.
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