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Pakistan cricket's financial woes render PCB unable to sack interim red-ball coach Azhar Mahmood
The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) continues to be plagued with financial woes, especially in the aftermath of the ICC Champions Trophy that it hosted earlier this year at home as well as in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
The current PCB administration led by Mohsin Naqvi reportedly wanted to sack interim red-ball coach Azhar Mahmood but finds itself unable to do so as it would then have to pay the former all-rounder six months' salary, which amounts to PKR 450 million or INR Rs 1.38 crore – an amount they clearly cannot afford.
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'Which is why the PCB recently named him as interim head coach of the national red-ball team until his contract expires next year in April-May,' an insider was quoted by news agency Press Trust of India as saying.
Hesson's arrival complicates Azhar's situation
The inside added that the board's recent appointment of Mike Hesson as white-ball coach further complicated things as the New Zealander made it clear he wanted his own support staff and did not include Azhar in his team.
'The problem arose when Mike Hesson, the recently-appointed white-ball head coach made it clear he would have his own support staff and Azhar was not among his selections.
'This left the PCB with a major problem of how to utilise Azhar's expertise to justify paying him such a handsome salary, as even if they wanted they couldn't release him without the six months of compensation,' he added.
The board, as a result, has little option but to wait until the end of his contract next year. They had faced similar issues when releasing icons such as Waqar Younis, Saqlain Mushtaq, Misbah-ul-Haq among others who had been employed as domestic mentors.
Meanwhile, Mahmood isn't too happy about the current situation either, having expressed his desire to be assigned to the national junior team.
'(Former pacer) Aaqib Javed, who is now a selector and head of the national cricket academy and close to the board chairman (Mohsin Naqvi), is not impressed with his (Azhar's) coaching style. But to justify his contract for the time being, they have named him as interim head coach of the Test side.'
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Pakistan yet to achieve stability on coaching front
It's not just financial problems the Lahore-based body finds itself plagued with. The board has also witnessed a procession of head coaches – both Pakistani as well as overseas candidates.
The PCB had appointed Jason Gillespie and Gary Kirsten as red-ball and white-ball coaches respectively last year in an attempt to bring some stability on the coaching front.
Neither ex-South African opener Kirsten nor former Australian pacer Gillespie lasted a year in their roles, with the former submitting his resignation inside six months.
Former Pakistan pacer Aaqib Javed would then combine Kirsten and Gillespie's roles to serve as interim head coach across formats until the disappointing Champions Trophy campaign, where the hosts crashed out in the group stage without winning a single match.
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