Umar Gul 'strong contestant' for Pakistan's bowling coach

Former Pakistan fast bowler Umar Gul has come up as a strong candidate for the role of the Men in Green's bowling coach, sources told.

It must be highlighted that recently, Gul's assignment as the bowling coach of the Afghanistan cricket team came to an end. The 40-year-old made 237 international appearances for Pakistan across formats, taking 179 wickets in 130 ODI matches and bagging 85 in 60 T20Is with an impressive career economy of 7.19.

He also played a key role in Pakistan's triumphant campaign during the T20 World Cup in 2009. The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Management Committee, led by Najam Sethi, also wants to appoint legendary all-rounder Shahid Afridi as chief selector till the 2023 World Cup in India.

Earlier, the PCB had appointed Afridi as the interim chair of the Men's National Selection Committee for the home series against New Zealand.

"I feel honoured to have been assigned this responsibility by the PCB Management Committee and will leave no stone unturned in fulfilling this responsibility to the best of my abilities," Afridi was quoted as saying in a PCB press release.

"We need to get back to our winning ways and I have no doubts that through meritocratic and strategic selection decisions, we will help the national side to perform strongly in the series against New Zealand and reclaim the confidence of our fans," he added.

Other members of the panel are former cricketers Abdul Razzaq and Rao Iftikhar Anjum, while Haroon Rashid (member Management Committee) is the convener.

Shahid Afridi played 27 Tests, 398 ODIs and 99 T20Is from 1996 to 2018 in which he accumulated 11,196 runs and claimed 541 wickets. He also led the national side in 83 international matches. He was also a member of the Pakistan side that won the ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2009.

Afridi was named to the management committee as well but opted out since he wanted to focus on his charitable foundation.