LAHORE: Former captains Misbah-ul-Haq and Waqar Younis are all set to be appointed as the head coach and bowling coach respectively, of the Pakistan national side for the next three years.
According to a Dawn report, Misbah and Younis emerged as the top candidates for their posts during the interview process conducted by a five-member panel of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) last week.
A formal announcement in this regard is set to be made on Wednesday.
The interview panel comprising two independent and three own officials -- former Test captain Intikhab Alam, former Test batsman Bazid Khan, PCB governing board member Asad Ali Khan, PCB chief executive Wasim Khan and Zakir Khan, the PCB director - International Cricket -- has sent its recommendations to PCB chief Ehsan Mani.
In August, Misbah stepped down from his post in the cricket committee and submitted his application for the post of head coach. The other two members who had applied for the post of head coach were former Pakistan Test batsman Mohsin Hasan Khan and Australia's Dean Jones.
Waqar, on the other hand, had previously been the team's head coach twice. He faced stiff competition from former West Indies bowling great Courtney Walsh. However, Waqar's experience of working with the national team in the past saw him through. His last tenure was between May 2014 and April 2016.
PCB is wary of the fact that dealing with Waqar has not been easy for them in the past as he quit the post as head coach twice (in 2011 and 2016) and as bowling coach in 2007 under controversial circumstances.
His relationship with the current captain Sarfraz Ahmad is also not an ideal one.
The coaching posts of Pakistan cricket team have been lying vacant ever since PCB decided not to extend contracts of Mickey Arthur and others, following the dismal performance of the Men in Green in the 2019 World Cup in June-July.