Waqar Younis, may soon have more to juggle

Added to this is the fact that Pakistan already have a bowling coach in Aaqib Javed, current assistant to Intikhab. There’s been no mention thus far of Aaqib taking a break for the Australian series so what is it that he will be doing if Waqar is going to be bowling coach?

Stani Army were not the biggest supporters of Intikhab’s appointment as it seemed very much an old-school, backward step after the good work done by the late Bob Woolmer and former coach Geoff Lawson. The recent series in New Zealand must have raised concerns over the coaching attributes of Intikhab as a number of catches were put down by the Pakistan players. Having said that, Waqar was not the best of fielders in his time so having him as fielding coach too, seems a bit bizarre. May be ‘fielding coach’ was put in to his title so that people would not ask why we needed both Waqar and Aaqib as bowling coaches, but I don’t think it has worked.

Intikhab Alam & Aaqib Javed, current coach and assistant

It’s interesting that Waqar’s previous coaching stint with the International side was during Bob Woolmer’s time as coach. This must have worked in Waqar’s favour this time around as he was certain to have picked up valuable skills from someone who was regarded as one of the top coaches in the world.

Young apprentice mimics his master

If Waqar does take over, it will be a very popular choice among both the Pakistan players and supporters. It will go some way in lifting some of the recent doom and gloom from the captaincy fiasco. Should Waqar come in and choose his assistant(s) carefully, we could have what may turn out to be a very successful appointment.