Pakistan's batting coach may not be given an extension in contract

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) will be reviewing the performance of its support staff later this month, and in all likeliness, Pakistan’s batting coach Grant Flower, the former Zimbabwe captain, will not be awarded an extension. Flower has been with the team for the past 3 and a half years but he may be released this year since his performance has not had a remarkable impact.

As per reports the committee that will review the performance of the support staff includes former players Mudassar Nazar and Haroon Rasheed, and Subhan Anand, who is the chief operating officer of the PCB. The meeting is to be held on July 29 after which the decisions will be taken.

“A review committee which includes former Test players Haroon Rasheed, Mudassar Nazar and the PCB’s chief operating officer Subhan Ahmad will submit a report on the performances of the coaches. It will be discussed at the Governing board meeting on July 29 after which a decision will be made on retaining or releasing the support staff,” Sportsstarlive quoted a source as saying.

The source also revealed that others from the support staff are likely to enjoy their extended contracts up to the 2019 World Cup since they performed well.

Pakistan are back on their feet

Pakistan, who were ranked 8th at the start of the ICC Champions Trophy 2017, ended up trouncing all big names in the tournament to win their first ever CT title. Although arch-rivals India beat them by 124 runs in the tournament opener, Pakistan took revenge by beating them by 180 runs in the finals.

After winning the tournament, Pakistan now ranks 6th in the ODI rankings, and with the kind of young talent they have, they can well be a force to reckon with in the 50 overs World Cup, 2019 in England.