Misbah appointed Islamabad United head coach

LAHORE: Former Pakistan cricket captain Misbah ul Haq was appointed the Islamabad United head coach by the team’s management while Luke Ronchi was appointed the franchise’s assistant coach, on Thursday.

The announcement was made by the franchise that Misbah, who captained Islamabad United for the first three seasons of the Pakistan Super League (PSL) and claimed the trophy twice, had been appointed the head coach.

The appointed came after a few days of controversy as various cricket legends, including Quetta Gladiators’ head coach Moin Khan, questioned Misbah’s appointment as head coach keeping in mind the conflict of interest it could generate with his role as the team’s national coach.

Misbah is not only the head coach and the chief selector of the national cricket team, he is also a member of the national cricket committee.

Ronchi had been part of the United squad since PSL 3. Former cricketer Saeed Ajmal, who was part of the 2016 winning team, will join the duo as the spin bowling coach.

Islamabad United owner, Ali Naqvi, said the franchise’s aim was to promote experienced players by handing them coaching gigs. “From the start one of our goals has been to promote from within.

“There has been a dearth of Pakistani coaches coming through, and we have aimed from the first season of the PSL to plan towards evolving experienced players into coaching,” he said.