Pakistan have secured the services of renowned Australian fielding specialist Shane McDermott as their all-format fielding coach, sources confirmed to Telecom Asia Sport on Friday.
The 44-year-old brings a wealth of experience, holding a High Performance Level Three Coaching Certificate, and has contributed to several international and domestic sides, including Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Cricket Australia, the Western Australia Cricket Association and Cricket Tasmania.
McDermott comes highly recommended by Pakistan’s new white-ball head coach, Mike Hesson, and is expected to join the squad ahead of the three-match T20I series against Bangladesh. An official announcement is anticipated later this week.
Between 2022 and 2023, McDermott served as Assistant Fielding Coach with the Bangladesh national team but left the role following disagreements with then-head coach Chandika Hathurusinghe. Prior to that, he spent three years with Sri Lanka’s senior men’s team as fielding coach and also coached the Sri Lanka A side during his tenure.
Following his time in Bangladesh, McDermott worked with Afghanistan, earning praise after the team’s impressive run to the semi-finals of the ICC Twenty20 World Cup in June 2024.
Earlier in his career, from 2012 to 2019, he held multiple positions at Cricket Australia’s National Cricket Centre, including Interim Assistant/Fielding Coach and Interim National A Team Analyst and Fielding Coach.
Pakistan face a packed schedule beginning with the Bangladesh tour, followed by a five-match T20I series in the West Indies.
In related developments this week, the Pakistan Cricket Board appointed former all-rounder Azhar Mahmood as the Test head coach. Meanwhile, the board is expected to name Salman Agha as the all-format captain, replacing Shan Masood (Test) and Mohammad Rizwan (ODI) in leadership roles.