Yasir Arafat, a former Pakistani fast bowler, has been appointed as the high-performance coach for Pakistan’s upcoming five-match T20I series against New Zealand, as reported by ESPNcricinfo.
This decision by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) was made late, with Arafat stepping in to replace the current high-performance coach, Simon Helmot, specifically for the New Zealand series.
Helmot, who was initially part of the coaching setup for the ongoing Australia series, is said to be unavailable due to personal commitments.
Arafat will directly join the Pakistan T20I squad in New Zealand. His role, as per current reports, is primarily focused on the upcoming five-match T20 series.
The PCB’s recent restructuring of coaching roles continues with Mohammad Hafeez stepping in as team director and head coach for Pakistan’s Australia tour, replacing Mickey Arthur and Grant Bradburn. Interestingly, Arthur and Bradburn, still retained by the PCB, remained absent from the Australia tour and await new assignments.
For the upcoming five-match T20I series against New Zealand starting January 12 in Auckland, Pakistan’s men’s chief selector, Wahab Riaz, unveiled a 17-member squad.
Preparations for the series will kick off with a training camp at Lahore’s National Cricket Academy, running from December 28 to January 3.
Pakistan squad for the New Zealand Tour:
- Shaheen Afridi (c)
- Babar Azam
- Mohammad Rizwan
- Fakhar Zaman
- Saim Ayub
- Sahibzada Farhan
- Haseebullah Khan
- Iftikhar Ahmed
- Azam Khan
- Aamer Jamal
- Abbas Afridi
- Mohammad Wasim Jr
- Mohammad Nawaz
- Abrar Ahmed
- Usama Mir
- Haris Rauf
- Zaman Khan
Pakistan tour of New Zealand:
- January 12: New Zealand vs Pakistan – First T20I in Auckland
- January 14: New Zealand vs Pakistan – Second T20I in Hamilton
- January 17: New Zealand vs Pakistan – Third T20I in Dunedin
- January 19: New Zealand vs Pakistan – Fourth T20I in Christchurch
- January 21: New Zealand vs Pakistan – Fifth T20I in Christchurch