Former Australia all-rounder Shane Watson, an ex-assistant coach at the Delhi Capitals, is now in contention to guide Pakistan now. As per a report in Cricket Pakistan, the 42-year-old Watson’s name has emerged as the strongest candidate to coach the Pakistani side.
Watson is currently associated with the Quetta Gladiators in the PSL 9, as the head coach of the team. The reports further says that the discussions are already underway between the Aussie and the PCB, for the same, with Watson expected to meet board chief Mohsin Naqvi soon, to finalise the terms.
This will be the first time though, that Watson will be put in-charge of an international team. Of course, he has prior coaching experience under his belt as well, as he was appointed as IPL’s DC assistant coach in 2022, but was removed the following year.
For now, the Pakistani team was being mentored by former all-rounder Mohammad Hafeez. The latter had two unsuccessful series as the team director, as Pakistan lost a Test series to Australia 0-3, and a T20I series to New Zealand, 1-4.
His first assignment as the coach of the Pakistani side could be the T20I series against New Zealand, with the schedule still not out. Meanwhile, the series is all set to have five matches in April, with the Kiwis expected to arrive on April 14.
