It’s back to square one

KARACHI: Pakistan’s cricket authorities have been forced to renew their search for a head coach for the national team ahead of this summer’s T20 World Cup after Australia’s Shane Watson was ruled out for the job.

Watson was seen as the favourite to take on the role after emerging as the preferred candidate of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) but the all-rounder, who was at the helm of Quetta Gladiators’s PSL campaign, has declined the offer due to prior commitments.

This means that the PCB will need to quickly look for a suitable candidate considering that the biggest assignment of 2024 -- the T20 World Cup to be held in the USA and the Caribbean islands -- is just a few months away.

According to sources, PCB chiefs were optimistic about Watson joining the fray. “He was given a lucrative offer for the job,” said a source.

However, according to reports, it wasn’t an offer that Watson couldn’t refuse.

According to Cricinfo, Watson was in advanced discussions over the last week regarding him taking over as Pakistan’s limited-overs coach. It is understood he had seriously considered the offer after thoroughly enjoying his time in Pakistan during the PSL and was excited by the prospect of working with Pakistan’s players.

But according to Cricinfo, Watson has decided to honour his current coaching and commentary commitments for the time being. Watson currently has a commentary deal at the IPL and a head coaching role in Major League Cricket with San Francisco Unicorns, on top of his role with Quetta Gladiators. He also has a young family and is based in Sydney.

A full-time position with Pakistan would have seen him assume charge with immediate effect ahead of Pakistan’s next limited-overs series against New Zealand at home in April and commit to Pakistan’s limited-overs programme year-round.

Watson’s decision to pull out of the race means Pakistan remain without a head coach ahead of the five-match T20I series against New Zealand. Pakistan are also due to play T20Is against England in May ahead of the T20 World Cup in June. The speed at which developments occurred concerning the PCB’s interest

in Watson as head coach meant that accepting the offer would have necessitated pulling out of his other roles at short notice, which is understood to be the main reason for withdrawing. —with inputs from agencies