Mudassar Nazar leaves ICC Academy to take up role as PCB Director of Academies

Mudassar Nazar, the ICC Academy’s Head of Cricket Development, has been appointed the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Director of Academies.

Nazar had been with the ICC Academy, based at Dubai Sports City, since its inception in 2009, where he has worked with thousands of students and helped the facility become one of the leading cricket development institutions in the world.

During his playing days, Nazar played 76 Tests between December 1976 and February 1989, producing a batting average of more than 38. He also played 122 ODIs for Pakistan, making his debut in December 1977.

“Throughout my earliest days as an athlete to my time at the ICC Academy and Dubai Sports City, the sport of cricket and its sporting family has had a profound effect on my life,” Nazar said.

“The opportunities I have had through being the ICC Academy’s Head of Cricket Development and utilising its world-class facilities to be able to coach and educate some of cricket’s best junior and senior athletes has ultimately brought me to this new role as the Pakistan Cricket Board’s Director of Academies.

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“I would like to thank Dubai Sports City and the ICC Academy for their continued support and the outstanding contribution they have made to the development of cricket.

“I have no doubt the Academy, its coaches and staff will continue the sterling work we have already managed to achieve. I now look forward to contributing to and giving back to Pakistan Cricket which has given me so much.”

Nazar played a key role in the launch of The ICC Academy Schools Programme, a scheme that introduced top level cricket coaching into more than 15 schools across Dubai.

“We are extremely proud that Mudassar has been appointed to join the Pakistan Cricket Board as their Director of Academies which will enable him to train and develop national talent,” Khalid Al Zarooni, President of Dubai Sports City, said.

Following retirement as a player, Nazar experienced other non-playing roles, including a short stint as coach of the Kenya national team in 2005, and was director of the Nairobi Cricket Academy. He also had a spell as Pakistan’s National Cricket Academy Director and was part of the junior selection committee.

“I am pleased to have Mudassar on board to work with us as Director of Academies,” PCB chairman Shaharyar M. Khan said. “Mudassar brings a wealth of experience in this role. I am particularly thankful to the ICC Academy and Dubai Sports City (DSC) for allowing Mudassar to work with us. Our association with DSC is time tested and Mudassar’s immediate release by DSC on our request is a demonstration of our cooperation.”

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Retirement funds heavily invested in equities at a risky time

Pension funds in growing economies in Asia, Latin America and the Middle East have a sharply higher percentage of assets parked in stocks, just at a time when trade tensions threaten to derail markets.

Retirement money managers in 14 geographies now allocate 40 per cent of their assets to equities, an 8 percentage-point climb over the past five years, according to a Mercer survey released last week that canvassed government, corporate and mandatory pension funds with almost $5 trillion in assets under management. That compares with about 25 per cent for pension funds in Europe.

The escalating trade spat between the US and China has heightened fears that stocks are ripe for a downturn. With tensions mounting and outcomes driven more by politics than economics, the S&P 500 Index will be on course for a “full-scale bear market” without Federal Reserve interest-rate cuts, Citigroup’s global macro strategy team said earlier this week.

The increased allocation to equities by growth-market pension funds has come at the expense of fixed-income investments, which declined 11 percentage points over the five years, according to the survey.

Hong Kong funds have the highest exposure to equities at 66 per cent, although that’s been relatively stable over the period. Japan’s equity allocation jumped 13 percentage points while South Korea’s increased 8 percentage points.

The money managers are also directing a higher portion of their funds to assets outside of their home countries. On average, foreign stocks now account for 49 per cent of respondents’ equity investments, 4 percentage points higher than five years ago, while foreign fixed-income exposure climbed 7 percentage points to 23 per cent. Funds in Japan, South Korea, Malaysia and Taiwan are among those seeking greater diversification in stocks and fixed income.

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