Harare: Pakistan men’s team bowling coach Waqar Younis has decided to leave Zimbabwe’s tour and travel back to Australia immediately because of his wife’s surgery.
After the tour of Zimbabwe next month, Waqar Younis will step down as the Pakistan coach due to health concerns, he announced Monday.
At a press conference in Lahore, Waqar, whose contract was scheduled to expire in 2012, announced his resignation.
The former fast bowler stated, “I have no issues with anyone, but after the Zimbabwe tour, I have decided I can’t continue as coach due to medical reasons.”
“The resignation has been accepted by the Pakistan Cricket Board, or PCB.”
After his national team’s disappointing tour of Australia the previous year, the former test captain was named coach.
Waqar’s departure coincides with the PCB’s recent drastic restructuring of the backroom staff, which included the firing of longtime manager Intikhab Alam and assistant coaches Shahid Aslam and Aaqib Javed.
The group was told by the board that they should devote more time to their work at the National Cricket Academy.
Former test batsman Ijaz Ahmed has been appointed assistant coach, and governing board member Naveed Akram Cheema will serve as manager during the Zimbabwean tour.
After Pakistan was humiliated in Australia during a tour where he was employed as a bowling consultant, Waqar, 39, assumed the role of coach.
Following Pakistan’s May tour to the West Indies, former one-day captain Shahid Afridi discussed his disagreements with Waqar on selection matters.
The 262 one-day internationals and 87 tests played by Waqar emphasized that his resignation was unrelated to the team’s recent adjustments.
He remarked, “I need to spend more time in Sydney because my family and I currently live there.”
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