The inside story of Courtney Walsh interview and Waqar Younis selection

LAHORE: The controversies surrounding appointments of Misbah-ul-Haq and Waqar Younis are continue to surface despite the authorities’ insistence that the process was transparent.

The Pakistan Cricket Board’s (PCB) seriousness (or lack thereof) in interviewing West Indies legend Courtney Walsh for the bowling coach’s position has been exposed some more.

The Daily Jang has reported that after Walsh applied for the gig, a board representative called Walsh’s agent at 2:00 am, without realising that it was the middle of the night in West Indies.

The agent told the PCB representative to call in the morning and set a date for the interview, but by the next day the board had already made up its mind in favour of Waqar Younis. The former cricketer was also aware of the fact and that’s why he travelled to Lahore from Sydney along with his family, the report further added.

Sources told the newspaper that when the five-member selection panel was reviewing candidates for the bowling coach post only Waqar Younis name was on the list and upon questioning by the panel, the Jamaican fast bowler was approached by the PCB and that too in the wee hours.

Thus, the Burewala Express managed to snag the position unopposed for a rumoured monthly wages of Rs2 million.

Several former cricketers and coaching candidates have bemoaned the PCB’s interviewing procedure, claiming that the entire practice was staged for mere formalities when the appointments had been planned well in advance.

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