By Omar Khalid, IANS,
Karachi : Intikhab Alam’s future as Pakistan coach is doubtful after he was ignored for a brief tour of Dubai where the team will play two Twenty20 Internationals against England later this month.
Intikhab, 68, has been excluded from the touring squad apparently because of Pakistan’s pathetic showing on the just ended tour of Australia, where the tourists were white-washed.
Sources in the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) told IANS Monday that a decision has been taken to sack Intikhab but will only be announced after the board manages to select his successor.
However, Wasim Bari, PCB’s chief operating officer, said that Intikhab has not been sacked and added that a decision will be taken about him soon.
The PCB has decided against naming any head coach for the Dubai trip and has instead opted to appoint Ijaz Ahmed, the former batsman, as the team’s batting and fielding coach.
Abdul Raqeeb, who toured Australia as the team manager, has been replaced by Yawar Saeed. Yawar was the team manager at the ICC World Twenty20 and the ICC Champions Trophy last year. He is a close friend of Ijaz Butt, the PCB chairman.
The board has decided against making many changes in the Pakistan squad but the axe did fall on Pakistan vice-captain Kamran Akmal, who dropped a number of sitters on the tour of Australia. The wicketkeeper-batsman has been replaced by young keeper Sarfraz Ahmed.
Shoaib Malik, who was axed as Pakistan captain in January last year, will lead the team in the Twenty20 matches slated for Feb 19 and 20. Malik also led Pakistan in the one-off Twenty20 game against Australia in Melbourne last Friday in the absence of regular T20 captain Shahid Afridi, who missed the MCG game because of a two-match ban over ball-tampering.
Afridi will be part of the Dubai-bound squad but cannot play in the first match because of the ban.
Squad: Imran Nazir, Imran Farhat, Khalid Latif, Umer Akmal, Shoaib Malik (captain), Fawad Alam, Shahid Afridi, Abdul Razzaq, Sarfraz Ahmad, Umar Gul, Saeed Ajmal, Yasir Arafat, Wahab Riaz, Mohammad Talha.