Karachi, March 16 The Pakistan Hockey Federation has appointed Australian Colin Batch as the new head coach of the national side ahead of this year's FIH Men's World Cup.
Batch replaces interim head coach Khawaja Junaid, who had travelled with the team to Egypt for the recent FIH World Cup qualifying tournament, where Pakistan lost the final to England but secured a place in the main rounds after eight years.
A PHF spokesperson said that negotiations had been successfully concluded with Batch, a former Australian international who played 175 matches for his country, scoring 100 goals between 1979 and 1990.
Batch, who has worked as a coach in Belgium, New Zealand, and Australia, will take charge of the Pakistan team later this month to prepare them for the third leg of the FIH Pro Nations Hockey League and then for the World Cup.
Before Batch, Pakistan has had other foreign coaches including Hans Jorritsma, Roelant Oltmans, Siegfried Aikman, and Michel van den Heuvel.
Van den Heuvel was removed as head coach just a month before the 2012 Olympics in London after a pay dispute, while Aikman left midway through his assignment after not being paid his salary for months.
Pakistan hockey underwent a major change last month following the FIH Pro Nations Cup in Australia, where complaints about players facing accommodation and other logistical issues led to Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif appointing an interim PHF set-up to manage hockey affairs.