Yasir Arafat in line to become Pakistan team's bowling coach

Lahore [Pakistan], February 3 (ANI): Mickey Arthur, who is set to become the team director of the Pakistan's men's national team, has approached veteran fast bowler Yasir Arafat for the position of bowling coach, ESPNcricinfo reported.

As things stand, no official agreement has been made between Arthur and the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB); instead, an in-principle agreement has been established. It is also understood that, as team director, Arthur will not always be with the Pakistan team or travel with them, but will only collaborate on key missions. This is to ensure that Arthur can continue to operate on the English county circuit with Derbyshire.

Former New Zealand cricketer Grant Bradburn could possibly return to Pakistan as an assistant coach.

Grant Bradburn, the former Pakistan fielding coach and head of coaches' education at PCB's high-performance centre till late 2011, has also been shortlisted as an assistant coach by Arthur.

Arafat, 40, has coached for Sussex in England and the Hong Kong men's squad and just finished the ECB's Level 4 coaching course.

Despite playing only 27 international games across formats, he has a wealth of experience in domestic cricket, having played 207 first-class games, 257 List-A games, and 226 T20s in a career spanning over two decades. Aside from Pakistan, he has played in Scotland, Bangladesh, England, New Zealand, South Africa, and Australia. In 2019, he played in a first-class match for MCC against Nepal in Kirtipur.

Following an upheaval at both the administrative and cricketing levels late last year, the PCB is attempting to assemble a coaching team. Shaun Tait was the last Pakistan bowling coach on Saqlain Mushtaq's staff. Their next series will be against Afghanistan in Sharjah in late March, followed by a tour by New Zealand. (ANI)