Karachi, Oct 29 (PTI) Senior national selector Aaqib Javed is not in the fray to fill in the vacant post of Pakistan white-ball head coach but he could be made the chief of the National Cricket Academy (NCA) in Lahore, according to sources.
South African Gary Kirsten, who guided India to 2011 World Cup triumph, resigned on Monday following a rift with the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) which asked the Test team head coach Jason Gillespie to take care of the national side on an interim basis in the white-ball tour of Australia next month.
There was speculation that former Pakistan pacer Aaqib could be in the fray for taking up of the job left vacant by Kirsten, but a PCB source told PTI that he is more interested in working on a project which involved development of young players.
"The PCB contemplated appointing Aaqib as head coach of the white ball squad after the resignation of Gary Kirsten but he's now more likely to accept the post of the National Cricket Academy in Lahore,” the PCB source said.
He said PCB Chairman Mohsin Naqvi is expected to announce some key changes to top positions in the Board in the next few days, one of them being the appointment of a new white-ball coach.
“The Board is considering moving former Test spinner Nadeem Khan from his current position as Director NCA to head of the international cricket department with Aaqib taking over as head of the NCA,” the source said.
The PCB will have to name a permanent white-ball head coach soon, given the team’s various limited-over commitments after the Australia tour, which include matches in Zimbabwe and South Africa.
According to the source, Naqvi felt that a former cricketer would be best suited to head the international cricket affairs for which Nadeem Khan appeared the best choice.
He said the PCB chairman was not satisfied with the performance of current head of international cricket Usman Wahla who, in turn, could be made Pakistan Super League (PSL) head.
“There have also been issues between some of the players and Wahla over NOCs for foreign leagues and the central contracts,” the source said.
He said the PCB is most likely to move Usman Wahla to head the PSL as not only is he a permanent employee but also has some strong political connections.
"In the next few days there will be shuffling of positions in the Board," the source said.