Former Pakistani cricket stars Umar Gul and Saeed Ajmal have been named as the fast bowling and spin bowling coaches, respectively, for the national squad's upcoming tours of Australia and New Zealand.
Umar Gul and Saeed Ajmal, former Pakistani cricketers, have been selected as the fast bowling and spin bowling coaches, respectively, for the upcoming tour of Australia and New Zealand by the national squad. Umar, a part of the 2009 World T20 winning team, has previously worked as a bowling coach for Pakistan. This marks Saeed's first assignment with the national team. The Pakistan Cricket Board stated that their initial responsibilities include the Test series against Australia from December 14 to January 7 and the T20I series against New Zealand from January 12 to 21 next year.
🚨 Umar Gul and Saeed Ajmal have been appointed as the Fast Bowling and Spin Bowling Coaches, respectively, for the Pakistan Men’s Team
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Muhammad Hafeez has been appointed as the Director and head coach, and fast bowler Wahab Riaz as the new chief selector, following changes after the national team's disappointing World Cup campaign. With these changes, foreign coaches like Mickey Arthur and Grant Bradburn will no longer be associated with the national side. Morne Morkel, the bowling coach from South Africa, had resigned the previous week, and alterations have been made to the fielding coach position as well.
Umar has previously served as the bowling coach during the T20I series against Afghanistan and the subsequent series against New Zealand at home. He has also coached the Afghanistan squad and worked with the Quetta Gladiators in the Pakistan Super League.
Saeed Ajmal, a renowned off-spinner, saw his career face obstacles in 2015 due to reported issues with his bowling action by ICC officials. He has represented Pakistan in 35 Tests, 113 ODIs, and 64 T20Is, accumulating 447 wickets across the three formats. Additionally, he has served as the spin bowling coach for the PSL franchise Islamabad United.