After being interviewed in Pakistan this week for the position of national coach, the former Australia paceman had a long conversation with Shoaib at a training camp and watched him bowl.

"He's a vital cog to them being top of the tree," Lawson told Friday's The Australian newspaper. "At 32, he's still got two or three very good years left in him."

A Pakistan Cricket Board panel interviewed former Bangladesh coach Dav Whatmore on Thursday as one of three possible replacements, along with Whatmore's compatriots Richard Done and Lawson, for Bob Woolmer, who died of natural causes at the World Cup in March.

International Cricket Council high performance manager Done, a former New South Wales fast bowler now based in Dubai, met the panel last Sunday.

Lawson said he was impressed with what he saw of Shoaib.

"I had a good chat to him and saw him bowl a bit in a practice game," Lawson said.

"He looks pretty good. He bowled four or five overs and bowled sharply. He looks fit and by all accounts has been training hard."

Lawson believes that Shoaib's future will be determined by how well his body copes with recent operations.