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Coaches are coming heavily into focus now and they seem to often get the blame or the credit for their team’s results. As we continue our journey through Pakistan cricket, here are some of the best coaches that have taken charge of the national team.
Who is the Most Successful Coach of Pakistan?
It’s generally accepted that the most successful coach of the Pakistan national cricket team was Mickey Arthur. He took on the job in May 2016 and he remained in charge until August 2019.
During his time as Pakistan coach, Arthur led the team to victory in the ICC Champions Trophy in 2017 while the side also topped the rankings in tests and T20is.
10 Best Coaches of the Pakistan National Cricket Team
Mickey Arthur
Maybe it’s down to Pakistan not winning a World Cup, but it seems surprising that the governing body chose not to renew Mickey Arthur’s contract in 2019. He’d enjoyed a great deal of success which makes him the best ever national coach in the eyes of many people.
The PCB’s actions may have also led to Arthur supposedly turning down an approach for him to take up the role once again. It’s reported that he was asked to return as head coach in February 2023, but announced that he wanted to see out his contract with English county side Derbyshire.
Waqar Younis
He was one of Pakistan’s greatest ever cricketers, but how did Waqar Younis shape up as a coach? He first became involved with the national team as a bowling coach in 2006, but resigned fairly quickly.
In terms of the full coaching job, Waqar took up this position in 2010, replacing Intikhab Alam. He was only in charge for a year amid disappointing results and the spot fixing controversy in the tests between Pakistan and Australia.
Waqar returned for two years between 2014 and 2016, but could do little to improve the country’s fortunes. He resigned in 2016 stating that the board failed to work on his recommendations.
Moin Khan
A former captain of the Pakistan side on the field, Moin Khan stepped in to assume the full coaching role in 2014. He’d previously been the manager of the team and was already a chief selector, but this was another appointment that would prove to be short lived.
The Pakistan board took the unusual step of removing Moin during a major tournament. Due to poor results at the 2015 World Cup, he was relieved of his duties.
Mohsin Khan
A fine batsman, Mohsin Khan played more than 100 international matches for Pakistan between 1977 and 1989. He was made a selector for the national side in 2010 and, a year later, Mohsin became the interim coach while the PCB looked for a permanent appointment to the role.
Mohsin Khan had to step down from the coaching role when Dav Whatmore was employed in 2012. He’s since reapplied for the job and, when we consider the mixed results delivered by further coaches, he might feel that he deserved a second chance.
Mushtaq Mohammad
He will largely be remembered for his efforts on the field where big scores with the bat, coupled with some useful spin bowling, made Mushtaq Mohammad one of Pakistan’s first great all rounders. He also skippered the team in 19 tests.
Mushtaq also had a brief spell as coach of the national team which included the build up to the 1999 World Cup. Results were mixed and the board quickly moved on to a string of successors.
Misbah-Ul-Haq
One of Pakistan’s most prolific international batters, Misbah-ul-Haq is another former player who went on to experience a spell as head coach of the national team. In Misbah’s case, he became the first man to be the permanent coach, and the chief selector of Pakistan at the same time, when he was appointed in September 2019.
He would quickly jettison the selector’s role, but would continue as coach. There were some notable wins including a rare series victory in South Africa, but Misbah-Ul-Haq resigned as the country’s head coach in September 2021.
Dav Whatmore
An experienced coach whose CV includes stints at Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Zimbabwe, Dav Whatmore was the head coach of the Pakistan team between 2012 and 2014. As a player, he’d experienced a modest international career with Australia, but he enjoyed much more success in coaching roles.
Things started positively in his spell with Pakistan as the team won the 2012 edition of the Asia Cup. In general, results remained strong, but Whatmore left his role as head coach of Pakistan when his contract expired in 2014.
Bob Woolmer
Bob Woolmer’s time as coach of the Pakistan national cricket team ended in sad circumstances. Woolmer was a former England international batsman who had made a name for himself as a coach at Warwickshire and then with South Africa.
He took up the position of full time coach with the Pakistan national team in 2004, coming in to replace Javed Miandad. The team enjoyed some good early results under his tenure, most notably with a rare ODI series win in India.
He was very defensive of his team, most notably during a 2006 ball tampering row, and Pakistan went into the 2007 World Cup as one of the favourites. An early exit followed, and three days before the team’s final game, Bob Woolmer was found dead in his hotel room. A heart attack was the official explanation, but suggestions of foul play have always remained.
Richard Pybus
Another man who will be remembered more for his coaching than his days as a player, Richard Pybus initially worked as head coach of Pakistan at the 1999 World Cup. Things seemed to be going well for Pybus at the tournament in his native England, but he was fired after the team lost in the final to Australia.
He was rehired later in 1999 but lost his job almost immediately after the cricket board was dissolved following a military coup.
Richard Pybus wasn’t having much luck at this point, but he would get two more chances to coach the Pakistan national team. 2001 saw Pybus take the helm but he would lose his job later that year following the September 11 attacks when foreign nationals had to leave the country owing to security concerns.
Richard Pybus’ fourth and most recent stint as the head coach of Pakistan came in 2002, but this time he was removed a year later due to poor results. He experienced the most eventful time of any Pakistan coach, but Richard Pybus could never really enjoy an extended period in the job.
Javed Miandad
He was arguably the greatest batsman that Pakistan ever produced, but Javed Miandad was another man who found it difficult to replicate that success as the country’s national cricket coach. He was initially appointed into the role in September 1998 and would eventually enjoy three spells in charge of the national team.
Miandad experienced some success against India but he would resign in April 1999 for reasons that were not entirely clear.
He would take charge again in 2000 and enjoyed instant success as Pakistan won the Sharjah Cup. Overall results were mixed, however, and he was relieved of his duties in April of the following year.
Javed Miandad’s third and most recent spell as Pakistan head coach lasted from March 2003 until June 2004. Once again, he was dismissed following some poor results, but Miandad has since worked briefly as a batting consultant to the national team.
Final Thoughts
There is a theory that the best players don’t always make the best coaches and that tends to be backed up by this list. Mickey Arthur had a modest playing career and never featured in an international match, yet he’s widely regarded as the best coach that Pakistan has ever had.
In contrast, some of the most exceptional players in the country’s history have had a go at the role and they haven’t fared quite so well. Javed Miandad and Waqar Younis are, perhaps, the two biggest names to have struggled.
Others could have perhaps done more if they had stayed in their role. The case of Richard Pybus is particularly interesting and he was extremely unlucky to have lost the position on more than one occasion to circumstances outside of his control.
Who will be the next great coach of Pakistan? We’ll have to wait and see if the team can improve their standings now that international cricket is returning to the country.
