Intikhab Alam offered coach's role

The Pakistan board has offered Intikhab, a former Test captain and coach, a two-year contract. Intikhab confirmed he had been offered a two-year contract but said an official announcement would come from the board

Cricinfo staff

25-Oct-2008

Pakistan's coaches in the last 10 years

Sept 1998: Javed Miandad takes over from Haroon Rasheed.
April 1999: Miandad resigns after falling out with senior players and is replaced by Mushtaq Mohammad for the 1999 World Cup.
Aug 1999: Mushtaq is sacked after the World Cup. Wasim Raja steps in.
Nov 1999: English-born Richard Pybus becomes Pakistan's first foreign coach.
Dec 1999: Intikhab Alam takes over after Pybus is axed following Pakistan's 3-0 rout in a Test series in Australia.
March 2000: Miandad replaces Alam after Pakistan lose the home series to Sri Lanka.
April 2001: Miandad is replaced by Pybus after Pakistan's tour of New Zealand
Sept 2001: Pybus refuses to come to Pakistan for security reasons after 9/11. Mudassar Nazar takes over.
Sept 2002: Nazar summoned home midway through ICC Champions Trophy in Sri Lanka and Pybus returns for a third stint.
March 2003: Pybus says he does not want to stay on after Pakistan were knocked out in the first round of the World Cup. Miandad returns as coach.
June 2004: Miandad sacked after Pakistan lose the one-day and Test series against India at home.
July 2004: Bob Woolmer takes over.
March 2007: Woolmer is found dead in his Jamaica hotel room hours after Pakistan crash out in the first round of the World Cup in the West Indies.
July 2007: Geoff Lawson is appointed as coach.
Oct 2008: Lawson two-year tenure is cut short; Alam appointed for ODI series against West Indies to be played in Abu Dhabi.

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.

Intikhab Alam Geoff Lawson Pakistan