Pakistan Set to Remove Coach Aaqib Javed Following Champions Trophy Underperformance: Reports

Aaqib Javed won’t be Pakistan’s head coach for long. After the team gets knocked out in the group stage of the ICC Champions Trophy, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) plans to fire Javed and his entire coaching staff. Pakistan is out of the ICC Champions Trophy just six days into the tournament. This comes after a long 29-year wait to host an ICC event. PCB Chairman Mohsin Naqvi has already decided to remove Aaqib Javed, who is also on the selection committee. He will also meet with the Board of Governors to discuss making big changes to the selection committee.

"Obviously there is backlash over the team's performance in the CT. The Board hasn't decided as yet on whether the team will have separate head coaches (for red and white ball teams), but one thing is certain the current support staff will be overhauled now after the poor show in the Champions Trophy," the source told PTI.

For those who don’t know, PCB made Aaqib Javed the interim white-ball head coach after Gary Kirsten quit, saying the board had changed their agreement. A few months later, Test head coach Jason Gillespie also left for the same reason. PCB then gave Aaqib that role too, saying they couldn’t appoint a new head coach because they were focused on preparing for the ICC Champions Trophy.

“But the way the Board has been changing coaches and selectors since last year, it will be a challenge to find other candidates for these positions. The PCB, after the way Kirsten and Gillispie resigned, is not going to get a choice of field when it comes to foreign coaches, so most probably the PCB will look at former players for the job,” the source added. 

Now, PCB has plenty of time to find a new head coach. Pakistan’s next tour is to New Zealand from March 16 to April 5, where they’ll play three ODIs and five T20Is. Before that, the board is expected to name a new coach. It will likely be a former Pakistani cricketer since foreign coaches might be reluctant to sign on after seeing what happened with Kirsten and Gillespie.

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