KARACHI: Former Pakistan captain Misbah-ul-Haq has stepped down from the PCB Cricket Committee after joining the race for the position of national team's head coach.
After days of speculation that Misbah would be appointed head coach cum chief selector, the 44-year-old on Monday confirmed he was applying for the head coach job the deadline for which ended on Monday.
"It has been interesting to see my name being mentioned as a future head coach of the Pakistan cricket team, but the fact is I only made the decision today," Misbah said in a statement.
"I am applying for the head coach's role fully aware that the competition will be tough as I envisage there will be a few more very competent and highly qualified people applying for one of the most challenging jobs in the game."
According to insiders, the PCB has not received applications from any high profile foreign coaches as yet with the best-known name being former Australian batsman Dean Jones.
Former captain Waqar Younis has applied for the post of bowling coach and said he had thought about submitting his resume for the head coach but with Misbah in the race he would prefer to work as bowling coach.
The change of mind for Misbah came after he met with the PCB Director International Cricket Zakir Khan following which the PCB announced he was stepping down as a member of the Cricket Committee which recommended not renewing the contracts of former head coach Mickey Arthur and his support staff after the World Cup.
The PCB had advertised for the post of the head coach and support staff on August 9 and wants to announce the new team management by early September so that it can start work for the upcoming limited over series against Sri Lanka at home from September 25.
The PCB on Monday announced that former Test batsman Ejaz Ahmed will be the new head coach of the under-19 team.
Ejaz was chosen from among a shortlist of candidates that included former players Saqlain Mushtaq, Kabir Khan, Atiq Uz Zaman, and Shahid Nazir.