Yasir Arafat appointed Pakistan's high performance coach

Pakistan, on Tuesday (December 26), appointed former all-rounder Yasir Arafat as their national cricket team high performance coach, with this being another staffing shake-up for the embattled side after a tumultuous year.

In September, Pakistan failed to qualify for the final of the Asia Cup in Sri Lanka, before crashing out of the World Cup in the first round in India just two months later.

Their performance in the World Cup prompted the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) to replace team director Mickey Arthur and head coach Grant Bradburn, who had only taken over in April.

Arafat will take the helm from Simon Helmot who is coaching Pakistan through the ongoing Test series in Australia. The PCB said Arafat will be part of team management for the upcoming five T20Is in New Zealand, slated for January 12-21.

While no tenure has been given for the 41-year-old, he is likely to guide Pakistan to next year's T20 World Cup in the Caribbean and the United States.

Arafat played three Tests, 11 ODIs and 13 T20Is for Pakistan and was a Twenty20 cricketer in England, where he served as bowling coach for Sussex and Surrey.

He also had stints in Australia's Big Bash League and was a bowling coach for the Hong Kong national team.