Former Pakistan captain Waqar Younis has admitted that he was not happy with the policies of the Cricket Board (PCB) regarding the authority and power given to him as the national team coach.
Waqar, who stepped down as the chief coach after the Zimbabwe tour in September citing personal and health reasons, said, “My idea is that the coach should be able to finalise the playing eleven but in Pakistan cricket this is not the way the system works.”
Waqar, who is presently working as commentator in the Pakistan and Sri Lanka series in the UAE, had resigned as coach in May soon after former captain Shahid Afridi announced his retirement in protest against the PCB’s decision to remove him as captain after the West Indies tour.
Under the existing selection policy of the board, the national selection committee selects a touring squad after consulting the captain and coach but on tours, a selection committee including the captain, coach, manager and vice-captain select the playing eleven.
On the troubled tour of the West Indies, where the dispute between Waqar and Afridi first erupted, the allrounder twiced walked out of team meetings in the one-day series after differences with Waqar over selection matters.
Asked about Afridi’s comeback, the 39-year-old former fast bowler said, “It’s up to the selectors either they give him a chance or not. But personally I believe that if a player has not played international cricket for a while he needs to prove himself at the domestic level,” he added.
Waqar said his successor should be someone from within the country.
“I would prefer to have a local coach simply because he is more capable of communicating with the players and knowing how they work. The advantage of having a local coach is that he already knows the Pakistan cricket and how the system works here,” he said.
