Saturday, 10 May 2014 00:00
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ESPNCricinfo: Mohsin Khan, the former Pakistan batsman, has called the procedure adopted by the PCB to hire Waqar Younis as head coach a “total farce”.
Mohsin was among the contenders for the job, which he held briefly in 2012 when he oversaw Pakistan’s famous 3-0 Test victory over England.
Last month, the PCB decided to not renew Moin Khan’s contract as head coach and started the hunt for a new coaching panel. The PCB placed a newspaper advert, kept the opportunity open for 18 days for anyone to apply and appointed a three-man committee to evaluate the applications until 5 May.
Mohsin and Waqar were in the race for the top role and on Tuesday, the PCB appointed Waqar, who returned for a second term after his previous stint between March 2010 and August 2011.
“They lied in their own house,” Mohsin, who was rejected without interview, said. “They had said that the candidates will be shortlisted, then there will be interviews but they trashed the whole process and made fun of everything. They threw dust in everyone’s eyes. There were no criteria. I was a deserving candidate but I was getting messages that the whole process was a total farce.”
There was a perception that the board was already in contact with Waqar and that he was the only one in line for the job. Though Waqar’s appointment was made official only on 6 May, his name was unofficially doing the rounds before the deadline for candidates ended.
“They should have picked whoever they wanted as coach and appointed him but they should not have made a fool of the others. It happened before as well before the Asia Cup and World T20. It happened to Waqar as well at that time. Without any process they made Moin Khan coach. Moin is like my younger brother, but that was also not correct. PCB is not their personal property; it is the board of 180-190 million people of Pakistan. They spoiled two years of the team by bringing a so-called qualified coach (Dav Whatmore). They threw dust in the fans’ eyes. They have played with Pakistan’s name, with its respect.”
Mohsin was the chief selector in 2011 when Waqar quit after his first stint as head coach and the PCB was forced to go with the former as interim coach before he was replaced by Whatmore in March 2012. Though Mohsin was given a makeshift role, he wanted to carry on in the job but the then chairman Zaka Ashraf opted to engage Whatmore instead.
