Sammy declines head coach offer

LAHORE: Pakistan’s quest for a foreign cricket coach has encountered setbacks, with former West Indian captain Darren Sammy and Australian allrounder Shane Watson declining the offers. Sammy declined approaches from the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), citing his existing contract with the West Indies board as the head coach of the WI white-ball teams.

Watson returned home on Saturday night after rejecting the offer extended by the board. According to a well-informed source familiar with the developments, senior PCB officials engaged in detailed discussions with Watson in Karachi during the Pakistan Super League (PSL) matches, offering him the head coach role. Initially, Watson expressed interest and outlined certain financial and other conditions for accepting the offer.

“However, after the PCB more or less agreed to Watson’s financial demands, the Australian cricketer was displeased with the leakage of details regarding the proposed package in the Pakistani media and social media,” revealed the source. Consequently, Watson declined the offer, citing his prior commitments as a commentator in the Indian Premier League (IPL) and the USA league, along with the desire to spend more time with his young family in Sydney. Reportedly, the PCB had agreed to pay him $2 million. With both Sammy and Watson out of contention, the PCB is now expected to consider an interim arrangement for the national team’s supervision during the training camp in Kakul from March 25 to April 8, preceding the home five-match T20 series against New Zealand starting from April 14 in Lahore and Rawalpindi.