By Shahrukh Sohail, Chief Editor, Islamabad
KRL’s defensive stalwarts Kamran Khan and Samar Ishaq have joined the team’s coaching panel after hanging up their boots. The two defenders, who were a mainstay in the Pakistan team under Serbian boss Zavisa Milosavljevic, retired from national duties in October, 2013 but continued to play for the Rawalpindi giants until last season.
Club and country skipper Samar has struggled with a number of niggling injuries in the last few seasons but failed to fully recover. Islamabad-born Kamran led the team in his absence but according to insiders, both the centre-backs have joined the squad as assistant coaches this time around and will be helping KRL Sports Manager Ayaz Butt with the challenges of maintaining peak fitness without the Pakistan Premier League.
During their playing days, Kamran and Samar formed the backbone of KRL’s multi-title winning team that reached the final of the AFC Presidents Cup in 2013. The duo also helped replicate that same defensive success with Pakistan in the early part of 2013 and earned several accolades for their performance during friendlies with Nepal, Maldives and Singapore.