After Mohammad Hafeez and Wahab Riaz, PCB made two more changes, appointed Umar Gul and Saeed Ajmal as bowling coaches
Umar Gul and Saeed Ajmal are members of the Pakistani team that won the T20 World Cup in 2009. Gul will replace South Africa's Morne Morkel as fast bowling coach. He, along with Ajmal, will start working with the team before the Australia tour.
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The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) on Tuesday appointed former players Umar Gul and Saeed Ajmal as the fast bowling and spin bowling coaches respectively for the men's national team. "The inaugural assignments for the newly appointed bowling coaches include the Test series against Australia from December 14, 2023, to January 7, 2024, and the T20 series against New Zealand from January 12 to 21, 2024," the PCB said in a statement. '
Following the World Cup 2023 debacle, the PCB has changed the entire management and coaching staff of the team, with Mohammad Hafeez being made the team director, Wahab Riaz as the chief selector, while Shan Masood and Shaheen Afridi have been appointed Test and T20 captains.
Gul, who represented Pakistan in 47 Tests and 130 ODIs between 2003 and 2016, had previously served as the bowling coach for the men's team during the T20 series against Afghanistan and then the series against New Zealand at home. He has also been the bowling coach for Quetta Gladiators in the last Pakistan Super League (PSL) season and the bowling coach of Afghanistan in the ICC Men's T20 Cricket World Cup 2022.
Gul said, “I am delighted to join the Pakistan team as a bowling coach and feel honored to have been given the opportunity to contribute to Pakistan cricket by PCB Management Committee Chairman Zaka Ashraf. “Having previous experience working with men's teams, I will bring my coaching.”
Former world no. No. 1 ODI bowler Ajmal, who represented Pakistan in 35 Tests, 113 ODIs, and 64 T20Is, taking 447 wickets across all three formats, also worked as a spin bowling coach with PSL franchise Islamabad United.
“I am truly honored and grateful for the opportunity provided by Zaka Ashraf, Chairman of the PCB Management Committee, to serve as the spin bowling coach. I am delighted to contribute to the development of spin bowling talent within the Pakistan national team I am confident that my career and coaching experience will help in enhancing the team's spin bowling armoury.
