Islamabad, Mar.6 (ANI): Backing the Pakistan Cricket Board’s (PCB) decision to appoint former fast bowler Waqar Younis as the coach of the national cricket team, former all rounder Asif Iqbal has said that the PCB was left with no option other than selecting Younis, as foreign coaches were not ready to come to Pakistan due to the precarious security condition.

“The PCB were left with very little choice due to the lack of interest from foreign coaches, given the security situation in Pakistan. It was highly unlikely that a high profile foreign coach would have accepted the job,” Iqbal told PakPassion.net.

He said Younis’ appointment would actually help younger players who would have faced difficulties in communicating with a foreign coach due to language barriers.

“It’s better for Pakistan cricket that a local coach has been appointed. The cultural differences would have been a major issue especially with the present bunch of boys,” Iqbal said.

Iqbal, whose international career spanned over 16 years, also rejected concerns over Younis’ lack of experience and qualifications concerning coaching a national squad.

He said Younis has had an outstanding international career, and also enjoys the support of players, which is the key to coaching the team at the highest level.

“Waqar doesn’t have any paper qualifications regarding coaching, but he has that crucial ingredient which is that he has played at the highest level and will have the key aspect which is the respect of the players,” Iqbal said.

When asked about the areas on which Younis need to pay special attention, Iqbal said his prime motive should be to make players gel together as a team.

“The new Pakistan coach needs to work on the man management side of things mainly as a priority in order to get out of the Pakistan squad. A happy Pakistan squad will be a successful one,” he said.

He also expressed the hope that Younis would not be bogged down by the cricket administration and would focus only on the game. (ANI)