Intikhab Alam is the new Pakistani Coach

[PaiN_KiLLeR]

http://content-ind.cricinfo.com/pakistan/content/current/story/375301.html Intikhab Alam has emerged as the leading contender for the position of Pakistan coach after the removal of Geoff Lawson yesterday. Intikhab said he has been offered a two-year contract but added that an official announcement will come from the board. "Yes, chairman Ijaz Butt has talked to me and offered a contract for two years. But they will officially announce it next month," Intikhab said. There was initially some confusion, however, as Butt said Intikhab had only been appointed for the one-day series in Abu Dhabi against West Indies in November. "Intikhab will be coach for the Abu Dhabi series but we are considering two or three candidates for a long-term contract," Butt said. But it later emerged that Intikhab was the leading long-term candidate and only a formal approval was needed. "We would like to appoint Alam for a two-year contract, but the final decision will be announced after we take the approval of (PCB's) governing board members," Butt told AP. On the task at hand, Intikhab said, "It's not an easy job and I have taken up this assignment as a big challenge. Nobody is (player) bigger than the game and instilling discipline among the players will be my priority." The PCB released Lawson from his contract with three months compensation pay insisting they were not satisfied with his performance. Lawson, who was supposed to complete a two-year contract with the national team next year in August, is still in Lahore. The new administration has been keen to hire a local coach, and the names of Javed Miandad and Aamer Sohail have also cropped up. Intikhab has a successful track record as coach, having first been at the helm when Pakistan won the 1992 World Cup and then in 2000. He has also coached the Indian Punjab team in their domestic Ranji Trophy tournament for two seasons, taking them to the final in 2004-05. Since 1997, Pakistan have had nine different coaches, some of whom, like Javed Miandad and Richard Pybus have been in the position more than once.

[Dinx - the Jinx]

he has been appointed already

[TaNk]

who is this guy ... never heard about him :/

[TaNk]

http://content-usa.cricinfo.com/pakistan/content/player/40567.html not a good record in odi or test wired

[King]

This man has been tried before and has been shafted for Pybus in the past. This is just reinventing the wheel. It's possible not a lot of Pakistani past legends would want this job hence this man has been appointed. How are the players going to cope though? They have seen this coach come and go out of the setup. What is anyting new he is going to bring to the team? Looks like a cost cutting replacement to me.

[Ram]

Appointing a 66 year old man as the coach of an international cricket team...... Seems insane to me.

[Lurker]

Inthikhab Alam is a respected coach. He has done some good stuff and there has been quite a while since people have asked him to coach Pakistan. I personally think there may be a lot going on behind the scenes. Pakistani players have been having issues with foreign coaches. Whether it is a case of different cultures, work ethics or simply language, the problem is differently there. Quite possible players feel lot comfortable with a local coach and hence Inthy is being tried here.

[DomainK]

What Pakistan wants is quite different from what they need. They need a good coach, but they want a convenient coach. A coach convenient to the players and the management. A coach that would not ask Afridi to score, would not mind being pushed around by Akhtar and would also turn a blind eye to team politics. At the same time they expect the coach to deliver results. They have now made the job profile clear: join us, count the money, do nothing but wait for the axe to fall.

[MundaPakistani]

Alam is a nice guy but very strict at the same time. It will be interesting to see how he works with Akhtar because this is the same guy who banned Akhtar for 2 years and he later fully supported the 5 year ban.

[coffee_rules]

Atleast the pakistani team will understand what the coach has been blabbering about! On the flip side, they can't go around giving maa/bhen gaalis behind the coach's back. India has been there and done that with Gaekwad, Kapil Dev, etc. Won't work for sub-continental teams.