The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) have clarified that Aaqib Javed's position as Pakistan head coach remains an interim one.
On Tuesday, the board announced Pakistan's squads for the upcoming white-ball tour of New Zealand. Several uncapped players have been included in both the ODI and T20I squads, with the likes of Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan left out of the T20I squad.
Read more: Pakistan announce new T20I captain, name squads for New Zealand white-ball tour
Opening batters Fakhar Zaman and Saim Ayub have not been picked as they are recovering from injuries. The PCB press release assured that the pair should be fit for the Pakistan Super League which begins on April 11 in Rawalpindi.
Aqib Javed remains Pakistan's interim head coach
Towards the end, the press release stressed that current all-format head coach Aaqib Javed's position remains an interim one. In other words, he is not a permanent appointment.
"Aaqib Javed will continue as interim head coach for the New Zealand tour. His original term was until the ICC Champions Trophy 2025, but he has been asked to extend his tenure while the search for a permanent head coach begins. Mohammad Yousuf has been appointed as batting coach."
Aaqib, who is also a member of Pakistan's selection committee, took over as the interim white-ball head coach in November 2024 upon Gary Kirsten's resignation from the post just six months into the job.
At the time, PCB chair Mohsin Naqvi had said that Aaqib's appointment was "only for white-ball and only interim" and that they would "begin the process of looking for a head coach in the next 10-15 days so we can search and find a good head coach."
That was in November. The latest press release, more than three months after later, says the search for a permanent head coach is set to begin.
In fact, barely a month after Naqvi's statement, Aaqib was also appointed Pakistan's interim red-ball head coach after Jason Gillespie resigned from his post.
Pakistan backroom staff for New Zealand ODI & T20I series
- Naveed Akram Cheema - manager
- Aaqib Javed - head coach
- Azhar Mahmood - assistant coach
- Mohammad Yousuf - batting coach
- Mohammad Masroor - fielding coach
- Cliffe Deacon- physiotherapist
- Drikus Saiman - S&C coach
- Talha Butt - analyst
- Irtiza Komail - security manager
- Dr Wajid Ali Rafai - team doctor
- Syed Naeem Ahmad - media and digital manager
- Sergio Basil Mullins - masseur
Pakistan squads for New Zealand ODI & T20I series
ODI squad
Mohammad Rizwan (c), Salman Ali Agha (vc), Abdullah Shafique, Abrar Ahmed, Akif Javed, Babar Azam, Faheem Ashraf, Imam-ul-Haq, Khushdil Shah, Mohammad Ali, Mohammad Wasim Jr, Muhammad Irfan Khan, Naseem Shah, Sufyaan Muqeem, Tayyab Tahir.
T20I squad
Salman Ali Agha (c), Shadab Khan (vc), Abdul Samad, Abrar Ahmed, Haris Rauf, Hasan Nawaz, Jahandad Khan, Khushdil Shah, Mohammad Abbas Afridi, Mohammad Ali, Mohammad Haris, Muhammad Irfan Khan, Omair Bin Yousaf, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Sufyaan Muqeem, Usman Khan.
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