Intikhab, Miandad rule out coaching Pakistan

Former captains and coaches Intikhab Alam and Javed Miandad have refused to apply for the position of Pakistan's coach which is being advertised on Pakistan Cricket Board's (PCB) website. The advert was placed last week as PCB started the hunt for the vacant position caused by the death of Bob Woolmer during the World Cup.

Intikhab criticised PCB's method of advertising for the post and said that it was a technical position and putting it through the website was not the best method.

"It is not a post like that of chief executive or a director or general manager but a totally specialised one and there is no chance that I would stand in a queue to offer my services for the job," Intikhab, the World Cup winning coach-cum-manager, told Dawn. "The PCB should have an efficient database of the experienced candidates in the country for coaching job and they should be approached according to their credentials."

Miandad, who has been appointed as the coach on no less than three occasions, agreed with Intikhab's remarks and termed the advert as a casual approach towards the game by the PCB.

"Since the PCB's only major criterion for the job is first class cricket experience, there will be at least a thousand applicants for the job I should imagine," Miandad told Dawn. "And I wonder how the board intends to judge their credentials."

"There is no need to go on the website, it would only create a mess," he said. "Soon after the World Cup debacle, there were some caricatures of PCB officials in national dailies which showed their desperate attempt to find a new captain through ads. This week, the PCB has done exactly that with the coach's post. Under such circumstances, I am not willing to offer my services to the board, not at any cost."