The risks of being a Pakistan coach

There is something seriously wrong with the functioning of a cricket board if it sacks 11 coaches in 10 years. Pakistan have achieved the honour of doing just that.

The latest casualty is former Australian pacer turned coach Geoff Lawson, who was adjudged "useless" by the new PCB chairman Ejaz Butt.

But before making such a statement, Butt should have asked why his board has consistently appointed the wrong person for the job.

It makes one wonder whether all those who governed cricket in Pakistan for the last 10 years were useless too. Moreover, if Lawson was useless, how did his team reach the Twenty20 World Cup final?

The manner in which Lawson was given the boot is shocking, something that can never be expected from a professionally run organisation. By humiliating Lawson with unwarranted statements and sacking him in a flash, the board has virtually lost any chance of getting a coach of international repute in future.

Any coach is bound to think twice if it is worth taking the risk of becoming Pakistan's coach. After all, the term may not be beyond 12 months, although the contract may be worth a longer period.

To a great extent, the lifespan of a Pakistan coach rests on the whims and fancies of the officials at the top. Even the credibility of late Bob Woolmer was repeatedly questioned.

To be successful as a Pakistan coach, more than the technical knowledge, what one needs is the patience to handle those officials who pose as experts of the game. Every move by the coach is questioned and often these experts influence the players too. And if that's not enough, former cricketers who are ignored for the post, make life miserable for the coach through their statements. As a result, the players who understand their regional language better than that of their foreign coach genuinely believe these comments and quickly lose confidence in the coach.

Javed Miandad was successful to a certain extent because no one dared to question his knowledge of the game. Unfortunately, he lacked man-management skills. He also believed that all players must be as talented as him.

Although the new coach Inthikab Alam is mature, his continuity will depend on his team's performance and patience of the board officials. It's time Pakistan ended the game of hiring and firing coaches.