LAHORE- After former captain Javed Miandad turned down PCB's offer to become Pakistan's batting coach, the board is negotiating with two foreigners for the post, Chairman Ijaz Butt said on Thursday.
"Yes, we are having talks with two foreign batting coaches but since nothing is final as yet I don't want to take any names," Butt said. "We have held talks with these two gentlemen who have shown interest in the batting coach's position," he said.
He said that the two candidates were also in contention for a coaching position with other teams and he did not want to take their names as it would upset their other negotiations as well. Butt, however, admitted that one major problem the Board was facing in trying to hire a foreign coach was the security situation in the country.
"The one issue with them is they are not willing to remain in Pakistan for long periods and prefer to join the team on foreign tours and work with them there," he said. The PCB chief said the board had decided to go for a foreign coach because the team management and selectors felt that the players required a full-time batting coach with them. Miandad also apparently had issues with working under the supervision of head coach Waqar Younis, who is much junior to him.
In the past, the PCB had hired former England captain Geoffery Boycott to work with the team as batting consultant but he spent only a few days with the players in Lahore. Sources said that Younis had supported the idea of having a foreign batting coach.
