Lahore, Sept 4: Pakistan Wednesday appointed former captain Misbah-ul-Haq as head coach and chief selector in a bid to lift the national team's performance.

The cricket-mad nation failed to reach the semi-finals of the 2019 World Cup in July, prompting the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) not to renew head coach Mickey Arthur's tenure.

Bowling coach Azhar Mahmood and batting coach Grant Flower were also shown the door. The PCB said Misbah will be head coach for three years.

"Former captain Misbah is confirmed as Pakistan men's national team head coach in all three formats on a three-year contract," said a statement.

"In line with the PCB's commitment to ensure transparency, accountability and role clarity at all levels, Misbah was also named as the chairman of selectors with head coaches of the six first-class cricket association sides as his fellow selectors." 

Misbah will be Pakistan's 30th head coach -- but it is the first time that the head coach will also be the chief selector, along the lines of the system in New Zealand.

Another former captain, legendary paceman Waqar Younis, was named as bowling coach for three years. He had two previous stints as head coach.

A five-man PCB committee also interviewed former Australian batsman Dean Jones and former Pakistan coach Mohsin Khan before deciding unanimously in Misbah's favour.

Misbah and Younis will start with a three one-day internationals and three Twenty20s at home against Sri Lanka from September 27 to October 9. Pakistan travel to Australia in November for Tests in Brisbane and Adelaide.

Misbah is Pakistan's most successful Test captain with 26 wins in 56 Tests and 11 draws. He played 75 Tests, 162 ODIs and 39 T20Is matches for Pakistan in a career which ended in 2017.

Misbah described the role as challenging.

"I know expectations are high, but I am absolutely ready and up for the task otherwise I would not have thrown my name in the hat for one of the most challenging and coveted roles in Pakistan cricket," he said in a press release.

"We have some of the most talented and exciting cricketers, and I will like to help them train and prepare in such a way that they can play intelligently, smartly and fearlessly.

"I am aware this will require a change in the dressing room culture but if we have to compete consistently at the highest level, we have to embrace these modern day requirements." 

Pakistan are seventh in Test rankings, sixth in ODIs but are top ranked in Twenty20s.

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Mysuru, Apr 04 (PTI): A court here, taking serious note of lapses on the part of the police, has ordered the Superintendent of Police to submit a complete report before April 17 in connection with a case in which a woman, allegedly murdered by her husband in 2020, has now appeared before it—alive.

This comes even as Suresh, the husband of the woman named Mallige, had spent almost one-and-a-half years in jail on murder charges.

The case pertains to the arrest and imprisonment of Suresh, aged about 38, who had lodged a complaint in December 2020 stating that his wife Mallige had gone missing from Kushalnagar in the Kodagu district.

Subsequently, the police found the skeleton of a woman in Bettadarapura and filed a charge sheet in court, alleging that the skeleton belonged to Mallige and that Suresh had murdered her. He was then jailed.

On April 1, Mallige was found in Madikeri by a friend of Suresh, who saw her with another man.

The matter was brought to the notice of the Fifth Additional District and Sessions Court, and she was subsequently produced before the court.

Taking serious note of the police's lapses, the court on Thursday directed the SP to submit a complete report on the case by April 17.

Speaking to reporters, Suresh's advocate, Pandu Poojari said, "Suresh, who is from a village in Kushalnagar, had lodged a complaint in 2020 at the Kushalnagar Rural Police Station regarding his wife's disappearance. Around the same time, a skeleton was found within the Bettadarapura police station limits. A year later, Bettadarapura police arrested Suresh, alleging that he had killed his wife over an illicit affair. A case was registered against him."

The police had sent the skeleton for a DNA test along with blood samples from Mallige’s mother.

"Even before the DNA report came, the police filed the final charge sheet in court. Later, though he got bail, the DNA test report that eventually came showed a mismatch," he said.

When a discharge application was filed citing the DNA mismatch, the court did not accept it and asked for witness examination, including that of Mallige’s mother and villagers.

"Everyone deposed before the court that she was alive and had eloped with someone. The court questioned the Kushalnagar and Bettadarapura police about the loopholes in the charge sheet, but they defended their investigation and maintained that the skeleton belonged to Mallige and that Suresh had murdered her," the advocate said.

Meanwhile, on April 1, Mallige was found at a hotel in Madikeri, having a meal with a man. She was spotted by Suresh’s friend, who is also a witness named in the charge sheet.

She was taken to the Madikeri police station, following which an "advancement application" was filed before the district judge's court.

"The court, treating the matter seriously, asked police to produce her immediately. She was then presented in court. When questioned, she admitted to eloping and marrying another man. She said she was unaware of what had happened to Suresh. She had been living in a village named Shettyhalli, just 25–30 km from Madikeri, but police made no effort to trace her," he added.

Calling this a very serious and rare case, the advocate said the key questions before the court now are: whose skeleton was it, and why did the police file a false charge sheet?

"The court had summoned the SP and the investigating officers in the case, but they had no answers to offer. It has now directed the SP to file a complete report on the lapses before April 17 before delivering the judgment declaring Suresh innocent," he said.

Stating that he is awaiting the court’s final order, the advocate said that once it is issued, he will file a writ petition in the High Court regarding the trauma his client endured and against the police for filing a false case against him.

"I will seek justice and compensation for my client. We will also approach the Human Rights Commission and the ST Commission, as Suresh is a poor man from the ST community," he said.

Further, he added there should be a probe into the skeleton case and whether there was a conspiracy by the police to close both cases by naming Suresh as the accused.

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