Former pacer Umar Gul and spin magician Saeed Ajmal were named bowling coaches for the Pakistan cricket team on Tuesday by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) in LAHORE.
According to the PCB, Umar Gul and Saeed Ajmal’s inaugural assignments in these roles comprise the Test series against Australia planned from 14 December 2023 to 7 January 2024 and the T20I series against New Zealand from 12 to 21 January 2024.
Pakistan’s former bowling coach, South African fast Morne Morkel, resigned after the team’s poor showing at the ICC World Cup 2023, prompting the appointment. Babar Azam’s resignation as captain of all forms has prompted changes at the PCB, including new members of the board and players.
Wahab Riaz, Mohammad Yousuf, Mohammad Hafeez, Sohail Tanvir have been granted crucial designation in the PCB.
Prior to the T20I series against Afghanistan, Umar Gul coached the Pakistan men’s bowling team in their home T20I matches against New Zealand.
From 2003 till 2016, Umar Gul played for Pakistan in a total of 60 Twenty20 Internationals (85 wickets at 16.97) and 47 One Day Internationals (163 wickets at 34.06).
Saeed Ajmal, a former ODI world no. 1, will be in charge of the team’s spin bowling as the coach. Since his 2008 debut, Saeed has played in a total of 447 international matches for Pakistan, including 35 Tests, 113 One-Day Internationals, and 64 Twenty Twenty Internationals.
Saeed Ajmal and Umar Gul both contributed to the winning squads that took home the T20 World Cup in 2009 and the Asia Cup in 2012.