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Yasir Arafat has joined the coaching staff for
Pakistan’s five-match Twenty20 International series in New Zealand, marking
another change to the team’s coaching lineup. Arafat will take over as
high-performance coach from Simon Helmot, who is currently holding the
position.
Arafat will travel directly to New Zealand with
Pakistan’s T20I experts, after the PCB made this choice somewhat late. It is
acknowledged that he has been temporarily allocated to the national team for
just one series. Helmot has personal obligations, according to a PCB source,
despite having been selected as a member of the coaching staff for the current
Australia series.
This represents yet another shift since Mickey Arthur
and Grant Bradburn were replaced by Mohammad Hafeez as team director and head
coach for Pakistan’s tour of Australia. Despite not visiting Australia, Arthur
and Bradburn are still listed with the PCB and have not yet been transferred to
another location.
After Hafeez was appointed, the positions of
fast-bowling coach Umar Gul, spin-bowling coach Saeed Ajmal, batting coach Adam
Hollioake, and high-performance coach Helmot were revealed. Due to the
temporary nature of the PCB and the absence of official elections, all of those
appointments have to be made for a limited period of time. The PCB is not
authorised by the constitution to nominate people for an extended period of
time.
Arafat, who has coached in both England and New
Zealand in the past, participated in just one game in the 2009 T20 World Cup
for Pakistan but has appeared in 27 international matches overall, including 13
T20Is.
Starting on January 12, the Twenty20 International
series versus New Zealand will conclude on January 21.