Pakistan coaches Waqar Younis & Misbah-ul-Haq resign right after T20 WC squad announcement

Ahead of the crucial T20 World Cup in 2021, Pakistan cricket has got some major news as their head coach Misbah ul Haq and bowling coach Waqar Younis announced their resignation from their respective roles on Monday. Their decision to resign came only hours after the squad for the ICC T20 World Cup in 2021 was announced by Pakistan Cricket.

Pakistan's official Twitter account confirmed the news, writing, "Misbah and Waqar step down from coaching roles." The decision raised a few questions, especially given that the T20 World Cup is only a month away. Misbah and Waqar have both been coaching the team for two years and had one year left on their contracts after being appointed in September 2019.

Misbah cited bio-bubble fatigue and the time he would lose out on with his family while on national duty as major reasons for his resignation. "The quarantine in Jamaica post the West Indies series provided me with an opportunity to reflect on the past 24 months as well as the schedule for international cricket ahead. Considering that I would have had to continue to spend considerable time away from my family and that too in a bio-secure environment, I have decided to step down from the role," Misbah said, as quoted by a PCB statement.

He further added, “I understand that the timing may not be ideal but I don’t think I am in the right frame of mind for the upcoming challenges and it makes sense for someone fresh to step in and take the side forward."

Waqar Younis, the bowling coach, claimed he chose to resign when Misbah told him of his future plans. “After Misbah shared with me his decision and future plans, it was a straightforward one for me to resign as we had walked into the roles together, had worked collectively as a pair and now also step down together,” he said adding that working with the Pakistan bowlers, has been most satisfying.

Saqlain Mushtaq and Abdul Razzaq were appointed as Interim coaches

With New Zealand set to visit Pakistan later this month for a white-ball series, the PCB has named Saqlain Mushtaq, who is presently the bowling coach at the PCB's National High-Performance Centre, and Abdul Razzaq whose domestic side has won three titles in the 2020-21 season as temporary coaches. "Both Saqlain and Razzaq are ready to step up and are very much looking forward to making important contributions in their coaching roles against New Zealand", the PCB CEO Wasim Khan said in the release.

Pakistan's squad for T20 World Cup

Babar Azam (c), Asif Ali, Khushdil Shah, Mohammad Hafeez, Sohaib Maqsood, Azam Khan (wk), Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Imad Wasim, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Wasim, Shadab Khan, Haris Rauf, Hasan Ali, Mohammad Hasnain, Shaheen Shah Afridi.

(Image credits: AP)