Pakistan’s coaching team has grown, and Yasir Arafat, a former all-rounder, is the latest addition as the high-performance coach for the upcoming T20I series in New Zealand. Arafat will take over from the Australian Simon Helmot, who is currently fulfilling the role during the ongoing Australia series.
This change is due to Helmot’s commitments. As this decision was reportedly made late by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), Arafat will travel directly to New Zealand with Pakistan’s T20I specialists for the five-match series starting on January 12.
Numerous changes have occurred swiftly since Mohammad Hafeez took on the roles of team director and head coach for the Australia tour.
Umar Gul is now the fast-bowling coach, Saeed Ajmal is the spin-bowling coach, Adam Hollioake is the batting coach, and Helmot was initially the high-performance coach.
Arafat had expressed interest in becoming Pakistan’s bowling coach earlier this year and brings coaching experience at junior and domestic levels in England and New Zealand.
During his six-year playing career from 2007 to 2012, he participated in 27 matches across formats for Pakistan, securing 29 wickets. Additionally, Arafat was a member of Pakistan’s T20 World Cup squads in 2007, 2009, and 2012.
The team reached the final in 2007 and clinched the title in 2009, even though Arafat featured in just one match during the latter tournament.
The T20I series against New Zealand will signify the start of Shaheen Afridi’s captaincy in the Pakistan team
After the current Test series in Australia, Pakistan will kick off their preparations for the T20 World Cup 2024 with a five-match series in New Zealand.
This series will mark Shaheen Afridi’s inaugural assignment as Pakistan’s T20I captain, a position he assumed last month. Following Babar Azam’s decision to step down as captain in all formats, Afridi was entrusted with the leadership role in the shortest format.
Afridi has shown strong leadership as the captain of Lahore Qalandars in the PSL, guiding them to consecutive titles in 2022 and 2023.
Pakistan has also announced a 17-member squad for the series, noteworthy for the return of wicketkeeper-batsman Azam Khan and the inclusion of uncapped players Haseebullah and Aamer Jamal.
The Pakistan cricket team had a disappointing 2023 ODI World Cup, failing to qualify for the semi-finals. Nevertheless, their performance in the T20I World Cups has been noteworthy, reaching the semi-finals and final in 2021 and 2022, respectively.
Pakistan aims to secure their second T20 World Cup title at the 2024 edition, scheduled to be hosted by the West Indies and the U.S.A in June.
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