PCB to appoint Pakistani coach, suspends players' contract

Lahore, Mar 31 (UNI) Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) today announced that a home-bred coach will succeed late coach Bob Woolmer.

Addressing a press conference at the PCB headquarters at Gaddafi Stadium here, Board chairman Nasim Ashraf said a new captain will be announced within 30 days, following Inzamam-ul-Haq's stepping down in the wake of World Cup debacle.

Ashraf said since Pakistan's next international assignment is the Twenty20 World Cup in South Africa in September, there was no need to appoint a coach immediately.

''In all probability we will certainly now look for a Pakistani coach, but it will take some time to find a suitable man,'' Ashraf, who quit from his post after Pakistan's early elimination from the World Cup but continued after President Pervez Musharraf's rejected his resignation, said.

On the naming of a new captain, he said, ''We don't want to make a hasty decision, we will name the captain and vice-captain within 30 days.'' Meanwhile, in a major decision taken after Pakistan disastrous World Cup campaign, Ashraf announced suspension of existing players' central contract and Board's decision to replace it by a performance-based one.

''All players contracts stand suspended. We are going to introduce performance-base contracts very soon.'' In a veiled warning to the insipid show by the team in the West Indies, Ashraf said no player, no matter how big he is, should take his place in the team for granted.

He also said he believed Pakistan's cricketers lacked in mental toughness.

''We need to work upon this aspect as this is the most important area through which most of the top teams win matches.'' The PCB chief also informed the mediapersons that a baseball coach would be hired from the USA for ''at least one year'' to improve fielding standards of the team.

The PCB has also set up a three-member Performance Evaluation Committee to look into the causes of the World Cup debacle.

The committee, comprising former Test players Ejaz Ahmed, Salahuddin Ahmed and Salim Altaf, will submit its report within the next 30 days, Ashraf said.

The report, he added, will be made public.

UNI