Former Pakistan captain Misbah-ul-Haq has been appointed as Sudurpaschim Royals’ head coach for the upcoming season of the Nepal Premier League (NPL), set to begin on October 26. He becomes the second former Pakistan international to join the coaching staff of an NPL franchise, with Sohail Tanvir previously signed by Chitwan Rhinos.
Misbah brings extensive coaching experience
Misbah brings a wealth of coaching experience. He was with the title-winning Peshawar Zalmi in the PSL this season as their batting coach. Besides franchise teams, Misbah has served as the head coach of Pakistan’s men’s team from 2019 to 2021.
Misbah has previously also served as the chief selector for the side. He was hired on a three-year contract in September 2019 in a dual role as selector-cum-head coach. However, following a change in the Pakistan Cricket Board’s code of ethics to prevent conflicts of interest, the former captain had to step down from the selector role.
More recently, he resigned from his post as a member of the selection committee and batting consultant at the National Cricket Academy (NCA) in Lahore during Pakistan’s red-ball tour of England. The development came after the PCB sacked seven players as well as Bowling coach Umar Gul and batting coach Sarafraz Ahmed, midway through the series.
Royals look to build on last season’s finish
Royals were the runners-up in the last NPL edition, when Lumbini Lions got past them in a low-scoring final.
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