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Karachi: Pakistan Cricket Board might have been working on the possibility of promoting bowling and fielding coach Waqar Younis as the new chief mentor of the national side in place of Intikhab Alam, given his popularity among the present bunch of players.
A well informed source in the PCB said that the move to bring in former captain and pace legend Waqar for the tough tour of Australia on an attractive package is part of a bigger picture and long-term thinking is involved in the process.
"Normally, it makes no sense to bring in Waqar at this point of time for the Australian tour unless some long term thinking was not involved. Chief coach Intikhab Alam and assistant coach, Aaqib Javed are already working with the side," the source said.
"Apparently, the PCB Chairman Ejaz Butt is looking at Waqar as a long term candidate for the post of chief coach and the days of Intikhab Alam might be numbered as chief coach," the source added.
The source also said that Waqar is very popular among the present bunch of players who have lot of respect and regards for him. He had also helped the bowlers improved a lot during his previous tenure with the team as bowling coach in 2006 before he walked out and resigned owing to differences with the board and officials.
He also said that Waqar could end up drawing fatter perk and bonuses than Intikhab, if the team and bowlers does well during his coaching tenure.
Intikhab is presently drawing a salary of around five lakhs, while Waqar would get a retainer of three lakhs and other bonuses. "If the team and bowlers does well during his coaching period, he could end up earning more than the chief coach."
The Pakistan team will travel straight from New Zealand to Australia for a series of three Tests, five ODIs and a Twenty20 international starting from December 26.
In an other development in New Zealand, Waqar has had a detailed discussion with captain Muhammad Yousuf regarding the preparation of the side for the upcoming tour of Australia.
