Lahore, Oct 6 : Former Pakistani cricketer Mudassar Nazar has decided to quit as head coach of his country's National Cricket Academy (NCA) in order to take up a coaching job at ICC's Global Cricket Academy in Dubai.

Confirming this here last evening, a PCB spokesman said that Nazar will quit the post on December 31.

"It is a big setback for us as Mudassar had been working hard to make the NCA a productive and effective institution," the Daily Times quoted the official as saying.

Mudassar, who has played 76 Tests and 122 one-day internationals for Pakistan, said he was looking to expand his coaching horizon. "The ICC position offers a lot of challenges, that is why I applied for it," he said.

He said the NCA was a well-established institution in the country and would produce a lot of talent in the coming years. "The results will start coming in due course as it takes time for a product to be successful but the board has already invested a lot in it. The establishment of a bio-mechanics lab in the academy is a big step forward," he said.

The PCB official said a decision on who would replace Mudassar would be taken soon.

Mudassar has also worked with the Kenyan Cricket Academy and was Pakistan team coach in 2002.

ANI