Waqar Younis, Saqlain likely to replace Misbah as head coach for New Zealand ODIs

Pakistan head coach Misbah-ul-Haq has recovered from COVID-19 and is set to return to Pakistan on Sunday (September 5). However, it is still not clear whether he will be joining the bio-bubble for the upcoming white-ball series against New Zealand. Pakistan are set to host the Kiwis for three ODIs and five T20Is from September 17.

It has been reported that Misbah will meet the PCB officials upon his arrival in Pakistan and then decide whether he needs some rest or is ready to enter the bio-bubble again on September 8. He was tested positive for COVID-19 on the departure day in Jamaica at the end of the West Indies tour.

For the same reason, he had to be in quarantine for 10 more days in Jamaica while the rest of the squad returned to Pakistan. If the reports in Cricket Pakistan to be believed, bowling coach Waqar Younis and Head of International Player Development at the National High Performance Centre, Saqlain Mushtaq are in the line to step in temporarily for Misbah-ul-Haq, albeit only for the ODI series.

As far as the New Zealand tour of Pakistan is concerned, the visitors are currently in Bangladesh featuring in the five-match T20I series which will only end of September 11. Soon they will reach Pakistan with the first ODI set to be played on September 17. All the three One-Day matches will take place in Rawalpindi while the five-match T20I series will be hosted by Lahore. The ODI series will end on September 21 and pave way for the T20Is from September 25.