Saqlain Mushtaq, who was set to take on the role of spin bowling coach for Multan Sultans in the upcoming ninth season of the Pakistan Super League (PSL), has opted to withdraw from the position citing scheduling conflicts.
The franchise has officially announced that David Parsons, the former England Cricket Board (ECB) performance director, will be taking over from Saqlain Mushtaq.
🚨 NEW SIGNING ALERT 🚨
Thrilled to welcome David Parsons as the new spin-bowling coach of Multan Sultans for #HBLPSL9 🎉 pic.twitter.com/PIlsQMzbvo
— Multan Sultans (@MultanSultans) January 18, 2024
Parsons, who used to be the national spin bowling coach for the ECB from 2005 to 2007, has recently been busy with activities outside of cricket. Currently, he holds the position of performance director for England Netball, taking a temporary break from his usual full-time role.
Parsons has worked in Pakistan before and made a good impression on Sultan’s owner Ali Tareen. He spent a week at the Multan Sultans Academy, where he supervised a bunch of young spinners in Lodhran, South Punjab.
Interestingly, one of the spinners he mentored during that period was Faisal Akram, a left-arm wrist-spinner. Faisal is rejoining Multan’s squad under Parsons’ guidance and Alex Hartley, former England Women’s spinner, will assist Parsons.
Parsons expressed his excitement about working again with Faisal, whom he had previously coached in the academy.
I am especially excited to meet up again with Faisal Akram, with whom I worked in the academy.
Meanwhile, PSL 9, is just around the corner! It’s all set to kick off on February 17th and will run until March 18th. The anticipation for this exciting league is building up, with only one month left before the action begins.
