Misbah-ul-Haq was playing professional cricket barely five months ago but the former captain on Monday put his name in the hat to become Pakistan's head coach. Misbah, Pakistan's most successful and longest serving Test captain, retired from international cricket in 2017 after a distinguished career but played for Peshawar Zalmi in this year's Pakistan Super League Twenty20 tournament. The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) this month decided to end contracts of all coaching staff including fielding coach Azhar Mahmood and batting coach Grant Flower as well as trainer Grant Luden following the team's failure to reach the World Cup semifinals. "It has been interesting to see my name being mentioned as a future head coach of the Pakistan cricket team, but the fact is I only made the decision today," the 45-year-old Misbah said in a PCB statement. "I am applying for the head coach's role fully aware that the competition will be tough as I envisage there will be a few more very competent and highly qualified people applying for one of the most challenging jobs in the game. "I have to admit it is everyone's dream to coach Pakistan cricket team, which has tremendous potential to be a force to be reckoned with across all formats." The right-handed batsman had led the Green Shirts in 75 Tests, 162 ODIs and was also recognized widely for steering the team forward after assuming captaincy after the spot-fixing scandal in 2010. — Reuters
