Umar Gul likely to be named in Pakistan's coaching panel for Bangladesh Tests

LAHORE: Former Test cricketers Umar Gul and Asad Shafique are expected to be included in Pakistan's coaching panel for their upcoming away Test series against Bangladesh, sources told Geo Super on Thursday.

The Green Shirts are scheduled to tour Bangladesh for a two-match series, provisionally scheduled to be played from May 8 to 20, which will be their first assignment since they hosted South Africa for two Tests in October last year.

According to the insiders, several changes are expected in Pakistan's coaching panel, with former Test cricketers Gul and Shafique likely to be named bowling and batting coaches, respectively.

Furthermore, Abdul Saad, who has previously served as the fielding coach of the Pakistan women's cricket team, is likely to land the same role at the men's side.

The sources further suggested that former Pakistan captain Sarfaraz Ahmed will lead the national team's coaching panel as the head coach for the series against Bangladesh, the venues for which are yet to be announced.

For the unversed, Pakistan have already commenced their preparations for the upcoming Test assignment as 18 players are featuring in a training camp here at the National Cricket Academy (NCA) until April 20.

With Pakistan set to depart for Bangladesh on May 3, the consultations regarding the final composition of the squad are already underway.

Players participating in red-ball camp:

Afaq Afridi, Ali Usman, Azan Awais, Hasan Raza, Mohammad Huraira, Mohammad Suleman, Muhammad Ghazi Ghori, Musa Khan, Mushtaq Ahmed, Naqeebullah, Niaz Khan, Noman Ali, Rohail Nazir, Saad Khan, Saifullah Bangash, Sajid Khan, Salman Khan and Waqar Ahmed.