Shane Watson drops out of race to be Pakistan head coach

Shane Watson has pulled out of the race to become Pakistan's head coach after being the PCB's preferred candidate.

Watson, the former Australian allrounder who coached Quetta Gladiators this season in the Pakistan Super League (PSL), 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 ESPNcricinfo understands that 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.

While news reports in Pakistan suggested the PCB's offer to Watson ranged around US$2 million a year, ESPNcricinfo understands the actual figure was closer to half that number. It is understood the PCB's financial offer played no part in Watson's decision to withdraw.

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.

Watson was appointed head coach of Quetta Gladiators late last year. He won a title with Gladiators as a player in 2019.

He has rung the changes at the top in his first season as coach, most notably playing a leading role in replacing Sarfaraz Ahmed - who had served as captain of the franchise for eight years - with South Africa's Rilee Rossouw.

Gladiators started extremely strongly and qualified for the playoffs for the first time in five seasons. However, they lost momentum towards the tail-end of the tournament and were eliminated by Islamabad United on Friday.