The Pakistan Cricket Board advertised a fielding coach vacancy on LinkedIn on the same day they made sweeping changes to the Test squad and sacked the head coach and bowling coach.
PCB advertise coaching vacancy on a day of sweeping changes
The fielding coach position has been vacant since Shane McDermott resigned in July, a year after being appointed Pakistan’s all-format fielding coach. “The PCB is seeking an experienced and skilled fielding coach to join the Pakistan men’s national cricket team,” the job description read. “The fielding coach will play a crucial role in developing and enhancing the fielding skills of Pakistan national team players.”
The advertorial came on the same day the PCB released seven players from their Test squad after two disastrous defeats against England, while also sacking head coach Sarfaraz Ahmed and bowling coach Umar Gul. They have called on white-ball head coach Mike Hesson and bowling coach Ashley Noffke to oversee the third Test of the England tour, which starts on September 9, at Edgbaston.
The visitors are yet to cross the 200-run mark across four innings of the ongoing series, while their bowlers have conceded 409, 290 and 208 runs, respectively, in three innings despite favourable conditions. They lost the first Test at Headingley by an innings and 103 runs and went down at Lord’s by 194 runs, losing the series with a game to go.
Among players, Mohammad Rizwan, Imam-ul-Haq, Salman Agha, Ali Usman, Aamer Jamal, Awais Zafar and Khurram Shahzad were all sent home, and replaced by Saim Ayub, Abdullah Fazal and five uncapped players - Arafat Minhas, Mohammad Imran Junior, Saad Baig, Mohammad Imran Randhawa and Razaullah.
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Pakistan have had several fielding coaches over the last few years. Steve Rixon enjoyed a successful stint between 2016 and 2018, before Grant Bradburn took over. The likes of Aftab Khan, Abdul Majeed and Mohammad Masroor also held the position between 2020 and 2025 when McDermott took over.
Image courtesy: PCB/LinkedIn
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