Lahore: After the recent humiliated exit from the World Cup, followed by a number of changes, including replacing Babar Azam as Captain, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has made another change while appointing former speedster Umar Gul and former spin magician Saeed Ajmal, as the fast bowling and spin bowling coaches, respectively, for the men’s national team.
The recent appointments were made for the Test series against Australia, scheduled from 14 December 2023 to 7 January 2024, and the T20 series against New Zealand from 12 to 21 January 2024.
After a humiliating exit from the ICC World Cup 2023, the PCB has made several changes to the whole management and coaching staff, after which Mohammad Hafeez took charge as team director, Wahab Riaz as chief selector while, Shaheen Afridi Shan Masood was appointed as T20 and Test captains.
Umer Gull as Bowling Coach
The right-arm former medium-fast Umar Gul, who contributed to scores of victory for Pakistan in the past, also served as the bowling coach for the Pakistan team during the T20I series against Afghanistan earlier this year, followed by another series against New Zealand at home.
Gull also served as bowling coach for Quetta Gladiators in the last PSL season and Afghanistan’s bowling coach in the ICC Men’s T20 Cricket World Cup 2022.
Umer Gul made his international debut in 2003, representing Pakistan in 47 Tests (163 wickets at 34.06), 130 ODIs (179 wickets at 29.34), and 60 T20Is (85 wickets at 16.97) between 2003 and 2016.
Talking about his appointment, Gull thanked PCB and vowed to properly utilize his coaching expertise with the aim of gearing up Pakistan’s bowling potential to new heights.
Saeed Ajmal As Spin Bowling Coach
The newly appointed spin bowling coach Saeed Ajmal made his international debut in 2008, representing Pakistan in 35 Tests, 113 ODIs, and 64 T20Is, picking up 447 wickets across the three formats with scores of winning performances on his cap. He also served as the spin bowling coach in the PSL for the franchise Islamabad United.
The former world No. 1 ODI bowler was excited about the opportunity and showed his optimism to share his experience with the young players in the national team. “I believe my career and coaching experience would help to enhance the spin bowling arsenal of the team.”, Ajmal said.
