PCB approaches Luke Ronchi for head coach of men's team

The current New Zealand batting coach, Ronchi, has asked for some time before reaching a decision, reports added.

Ronchi had refused PCB’s offer last year after which Grant Bradburn was appointed.

Ronchi achieved the rare feat of representing both New Zealand, his country of birth, and Australia.

The 42-year-old featured in four Tests, 85 ODIs and 33 T20Is after making his limited-overs debut for Australia in 2008.

In league cricket, he has played for Guyana Amazon Warriors, Islamabad United, Mumbai Indian and Perth Scorchers.

The development comes after Shane Watson, Mike Hesson and Darren Sammy refused to coach the Pakistan team.

Watson wants to honour his current coaching and commentary commitments rather than leaving them at a short notice.

An Indian Premier League (IPL) commentary stint and head coach of Major League Cricket side San Francisco Unicorns are among Watson’s commitments, along with coaching Quetta Gladiators. The fact that he has a young family also played a role in his decision.

Meanwhile, Sammy declined approaches from the PCB, citing his existing contract with the West Indies board as the head coach of the white-ball teams.

The Mohsin Naqvi-led PCB is interested in appointing a strong coaching staff for the cricket team.

In order to fill the vacancy in time for the upcoming T20I series against New Zealand at home, the PCB is also considering the possibility of appointing local coaches along with foreign consultants.

The five-match T20I series between Pakistan and New Zealand will begin from April 18.

It must be noted Mickey Arthur, Grant Bradburn and Andrew Puttick, who were transferred to the National Cricket Academy (NCA) in Lahore after a change in their portfolios in November 2023, left their respective positions in January this year.

In April 2023, Arthur was named Director of the Pakistan men’s cricket team while Bradburn was roped in as head coach of the Pakistan national men’s side earlier last year. Former South Africa cricketer Puttick worked as batting coach since April 2023.

The decision was taken amicably between all the parties involved, according to PCB.