Mohammed Wasim appointed Pakistan Women’s Team Coach for Asia Cup

Former Pakistan batsman and men’s chief selector Mohammed Wasim has been appointed head coach of the women’s national team with less than a month to go until the Asia T20 Cup. Former Pakistan bowlers Junaid Khan and Abdul Rehman will serve as assistant coach and spin bowling coach respectively. No batting coach has been appointed and Wasim is expected to fill that role himself.

A statement from the PCB confirmed that these appointments are only for the Asia Cup, which will be held in Dambulla from July 19 to 28. No word on whether the appointments will continue beyond the conclusion of the tournament.

Most of Wasim’s coaching experience came with the Northern team, which was part of Pakistan’s domestic organisation for four years when the Pakistan Football Federation revamped the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy at the behest of Imran Khan, Pakistan’s then prime minister and Pakistan Football Federation patron.

Wasim led Northern to consecutive runner-up finishes and his team was renowned for developing young players and winning the National T20 Cup, which Northern won in the 2019-20 season. Wasim was subsequently appointed chief selector of the men’s team, but was abruptly sacked in December 2022 when Najam Sethi took up a brief stint as PCB chairman.

Pakistan has been playing under interim head coach Mohatasim Rashid for the last few series, with former international cricketers Taufiq Umar and Salim Jafar serving as batting and bowling coach respectively.

The Asia T20 Cup comes at a tough time for the Pakistan team after two tough tours – winning just one of eight T20Is in West Indies and England and failing to win either of the two ODI series – following a lengthy dry run and a sprinkling of promising results in the year that followed, including a comprehensive T20I series win at home against South Africa and becoming the first Asian women’s team to win a T20I series in New Zealand.

Though the women’s PSL has been nominally committed to going ahead by the PCB, the outlook seems bleak and, as in 2023, there will be no women’s exhibition matches to be held at the same time as the men’s PSL in 2024.

While the national team that will compete in the Asia Cup is yet to be announced, the PCB has announced the 28 players who will take part in a four-day training camp in Karachi.