Sri Lanka Cricket appoints former Pakistan World Cup-winning speedster as national team's fast bowling coach until 2024 T20 World Cup

Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) on March 16 (Saturday) announced the appointment of former Pakistan speedster Aaqib Javed as the senior men's team's fast bowling coach. The Sri Lankan cricket board revealed that Aaqib Javed will work as the fast bowling coach of Sri Lanka until the end of the 2024 T20 World Cup.

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"We warmly welcome Aaqib and believe that his immense international experience, both in playing and coaching, will help our bowlers come into good shape ahead of the upcoming major international competitions, such as the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup,”  Ashley De Silva, CEO of Sri Lanka Cricket in a release.

Aaqib Javed's coaching career

Ex-Pakistan pacer Aaqib Javed has worked with multiple national teams in a coaching capacity. Aaqib's most notable achievement as a coach came in 2004 when he led the Pakistan U19 team to a World Cup win. Notably, Aaqib was also the bowling coach of the Pakistan senior men's team that clinched the T20 World Cup title in 2009.

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Apart from serving as the bowling coach of Pakistan, Aaqib also served as the head of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) team and played an instrumental role in developing cricket in the country.

Aaqib Javed's career

During his playing days, Aaqib was a force to reckon with. He was part of the Pakistan team that won the 1992 ODI World Cup. When it comes to his record for Pakistan, Aaqib's numbers are fantastic. He played 163 ODIs for the Men in Green and bagged 182 wickets at an economy rate of 4.28. He also registered four five-wicket hauls in ODIs.

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In Test cricket, Aaqib bagged 54 wickets in 22 matches at a strike rate of 34.70. He made his Test debut at the age of 16. 

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