Mohammad Wasim, the former Pakistan batter and men’s chief selector, has been appointed head coach of the women’s national team, with the T20 Asia Cup a little under a month away. Junaid Khan and Abdur Rehman, both former Pakistan bowlers, will serve as assistant coach and spin-bowling coach, respectively. No batting coach has been appointed, and it is understood that Wasim will act in that role himself. A PCB statement confirmed that the appointments were only for the Asia Cup, to be played in Dambulla from July 19 to 28. There has been no word on whether the appointments could extend beyond the tournament.
Wasim has coached Northern, a team that was part of the Pakistani domestic league for four years until the PCB redesigned the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy at the request of Imran Khan, the PCB’s patron and prime minister at the time.
Wasim’s team, known for developing new players, guided Northern to consecutive second-place finishes. In the National T20 Cup, which Northern prevailed in the competition in 2019–20, he also took home medals. After serving as the men’s team’s top selector, Wasim was unexpectedly fired in December 2022 when Najam Sethi temporarily assumed the role of PCB chairman.
Pakistan has been playing under Mohtashim Rasheed, an interim head coach, for the previous several series. Taufeeq Umar, a former international cricketer, has been the batting coach, and Salim Jaffar is the bowling coach.
The Pakistani squad is facing a difficult time ahead of the T20 Asia Cup following two tough trips. They lost both ODI series and only managed to win one of the eight Twenty20 Internationals played in the West Indies and England. These came after a year of protracted dry spells punctuated by positive outcomes, the most notable of which being a resounding victory over South Africa in the home T20I series and being the first Asian women’s team to win a T20I series in New Zealand.
Despite the PCB’s theoretical commitment, a women’s Premier Soccer League (PSL) seems unlikely, given there were no demonstration women’s matches held in tandem with the 2024 men’s PSL, unlike in 2023.
A 28-person group has been selected by the PCB for a four-day training camp in Karachi, despite the absence of a team announcement for the Asia Cup.
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