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Exclusive: The withdrawal of other commitments at short notice is understood to be the main reason for his withdrawal
Shane Watson has withdrawn from the race to become Pakistan’s head coach after being the PCB’s preferred candidate.
Watson, the former Australian all-rounder who coached Quetta Gladiators this season in the Pakistan Super League (PSL), has been in advanced talks over the past week about taking over as Pakistan’s limited overs coach. It is understood that he had seriously considered the offer after thoroughly enjoying his stay in Pakistan during the PSL and was excited at the prospect of working with Pakistan’s players.
But ESPNcricinfo understands that Watson has decided to honor his current commitments as a coach and commentator for the time being. Watson currently has a commentary contract in the IPL and a head coaching role in Major League Cricket with San Francisco Unicorns, in addition to his role with Quetta Gladiators. He also has a young family and resides in Sydney.
A full-time role with Pakistan would have seen him take up the role with immediate effect ahead of Pakistan’s upcoming limited overs series against New Zealand at home in April and commit to Pakistan’s limited overs program throughout the year.
Watson’s decision to withdraw from the race means Pakistan will remain without a head coach ahead of the five-match T20I series against New Zealand. Pakistan will also play T20Is against England in May before the T20 World Cup in June.
While news reports in Pakistan suggested the PCB’s offer to Watson was around $2 million a year, ESPNcricinfo understands the actual figure was closer to half that figure. It is understood that the PCB’s financial offer played no role in Watson’s decision to retire.
The speed at which events unfolded surrounding the PCB’s interest in Watson as head coach meant that accepting the offer would have required him to retire from his other duties at short notice, which is understood to be the main reason for retiring.
Watson was appointed head coach of Quetta Gladiators late last year. He won a title with the Gladiators as a player in 2019.
He has heralded changes at the top in his first season as coach, most notably playing a leading role in replacing Sarfaraz Ahmed, who had captained the franchise for eight years, with South African Rilee Rossouw.
The Gladiators started very strong and qualified for the playoffs for the first time in five seasons. However, they lost momentum towards the end of the tournament and were eliminated by Islamabad United on Friday.
Alex Malcolm is associate editor at ESPNcricinfo. Danyal Rasool is Pakistan correspondent for ESPNcricinfo. @danny61000