KARACHI, Pakistan (Reuters)
Former Test player Mudassar Nazar has been appointed Pakistan cricket coach until January following the departure of Richard Pybus. The appointment means the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has reverted to its practice of employing a local coach after South African Pybus ended his contract earlier this week.

Nazar will be in charge of Pakistan until the tour of Bangladesh in January 2002, the PCB said on Thursday. "Nazar's appointment has been made since Pakistan is committed to playing in the triangular tournament in Sharjah later this month and because Pybus confirmed he could not carry on any longer due to the circumstances prevailing in the region," a PCB spokesman told Reuters from Lahore. "The PCB believes that Nazar with his past record and having worked with the national academy is best equipped to look after the senior team until the Bangladesh tour," said the spokesman. Nazar, 45, played 76 Tests and 122 one-day internationals for Pakistan from 1976/77 to 1988/89 before settling in England. He was coach of the senior Pakistan team in 1993 on tours to South Africa and West Indies but was sacked after poor results. Pakistan cricket chiefs recalled Nazar from England to become head coach of their academy set-up last year and he was Pakistan A coach in Sri Lanka in June and July. "It is a great honour for me. I was not expecting this. But I am looking forward to the job. Since most of the players I know personally and I know what they are capable off," Nazar said from Lahore. "It is very difficult to prepare a team in such uncertain circumstances. But our immediate task is to win in Sharjah. We will start our camp training soon." Pybus was contracted as senior coach until the Sharjah tournament, which starts on October 26, but had been tipped to carry on until the 2003 World Cup. But after returning home shortly after the September 11 attacks in the United States, he refused to return to Pakistan again, saying the circumstances did not permit him to do so. Former fast bowler Sikander Bakht will work as assistant coach to Nazar in Sharjah, where organisers have vowed to proceed with the three-nation event despite the heightened tension in the region. At its meeting in Lahore the PCB also discussed possible neutral venues for holding future Pakistan international matches. Sharjah, Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Tangiers came under discussion. But the PCB spokesman said a final decision would only be taken after the International Cricket Council (ICC) meeting which starts in Kuala Lumpur on October 15. The PCB has also handed down a one-year ban on fast bowler Muhammad Akram for a serious breach of discipline. Akram, who has played nine Tests, was selected in the Pakistan squad for the Asian Test championship match against Bangladesh in August but left the training camp for England without permission.

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