PCB Coaching Chaos: Seventh Head Coach Hunt Highlights Systemic Instability

In the last two years, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has cycled through six head coaches without producing positive results in major international tournaments. Now, once again, the PCB has advertised the position of head coach, alongside a vacancy for the director of high-performance centres.

The recent exit of Aaqib Javed—who served as interim head coach and selector—after a disappointing ICC Champions Trophy campaign in early 2025 marked yet another failed stint. This continues a pattern of instability that has haunted Pakistan cricket, particularly in key tournaments like the 2023 Asia Cup, the 2023 ODI World Cup, the 2024 T20 World Cup, and the recent Champions Trophy.

Leadership turmoil at the PCB hasn’t helped either. Under three different chairmen—Najam Sethi, Zaka Ashraf, and the current head Mohsin Naqvi—the board has seen constant reshuffling of captains, coaches, and selectors. Each chairman brought their own preferences, leading to abrupt changes that damaged continuity and team morale.

In the last 24 months alone, a revolving door of coaches included Abdul Rahman, Mohammad Hafeez, Azhar Mahmood, Jason Gillespie (Tests), Gary Kirsten (ODIs), and Aaqib Javed (across all formats). Now, the board is seeking a seventh coach—a task made tougher by Pakistan’s rocky history with foreign coaches, such as Geoff Lawson and Mickey Arthur, both of whom were dismissed under controversial circumstances. More recently, Gillespie and Kirsten resigned after brief tenures, further denting PCB’s reputation for handling foreign staff.

Captaincy has also been a mess. Babar Azam was replaced by Shaheen Afridi and Shan Masood, only to be reinstated and then replaced again by Mohammad Rizwan. After a poor T20 World Cup, Rizwan was also removed, with Salman Ali Agha taking over. Shan Masood, despite a weak record, has held on to the Test captaincy.

Selector roles have been just as chaotic. Wahab Riaz, initially made chief selector by Zaka Ashraf, was later demoted but retained influence in a new role as director of mentors. He now oversees former stars like Waqar Younis, Misbah-ul-Haq, and Saqlain Mushtaq. Similarly, Mohammad Yousuf has rotated between roles as selector, batting coach, and U-19 head coach—all with little impact.

The revolving door continued into late 2024 when Azhar Ali, Aaqib Javed, and Aleem Dar were appointed selectors. Azhar was soon shifted to lead youth development, while Aaqib was handed multiple coaching roles before his departure.

Now, Aaqib is reportedly eyeing the director high-performance position vacated by Nadeem Khan in March 2025.

Despite repeated experiments, the PCB’s leadership shuffle has failed to produce results on the field. The lack of stability, clarity, and long-term planning continues to derail Pakistan’s cricketing ambitions.