Lahore Qalandars have appointed the former England fast bowler Darren Gough as their new head coach. Gough’s appointment was the need of the hour after Aqib Javed’s inclusion in the Pakistan men’s selection committee.
Notably, Aqib played the role of the head coach and director of cricket operations at Qalandars. He served for a period of eight years before his move to the selection committee.
Gough’s first assignment as head coach will be the Global Super League (GSL) which is slated to be played at the Providence Stadium in Guyana from November 26 to December 7.
Gough is regarded as one of the finest pacers produced by England. The 54-year-old represented the Three Lions in 58 Tests, 159 ODIs and two T20Is. The right-arm pacer accounted for 229 batters in Test cricket, 235 in ODIs and three in the shortest format of the sport.
His last appearance for England came in September 2006 when he played an ODI match against Pakistan at Lord’s.
Significantly, Gough’s association with Qalandars is not new. He has assisted them in their Player Development Programme (PDP) and overseen the emergence of their several pacers.
Gough expressed delight at the opportunity and is focused on producing talent that could “make Pakistan proud” in the long run.
“It’s an absolute honour to have been asked by the Lahore Qalandars to be the head coach for the upcoming Global Super League in Guyana,” Gough said in a statement as reported by ESPNcricinfo. “I’m really excited about this opportunity because I’ve been fortunate to work with the Qalandars in Lahore on several occasions, assisting with their PDP (player development programme).
“We know that Lahore Qalandars are all about giving young players opportunities they’ve never had before -developing their skills and shaping them into players who can go on to represent the Qalandars, and hopefully make Pakistan cricket proud.”
