New Delhi, July 4 (IANS) Pakistan have appointed renowned Australian fielding specialist Shane McDermott as their all-format fielding coach ahead of their three-match T20I tour of Bangladesh.

McDermott comes highly recommended by Pakistan’s new white-ball head coach Mike Hesson and is expected to join the squad ahead of the Bangladesh tour. An official announcement is anticipated later this week, the Telecom Asia Sport reported.

The 44-year-old brings extensive experience to the table, holding a High Performance Level Three Coaching Certificate and having worked with various international and domestic teams, including Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Cricket Australia, the Western Australia Cricket Association and Cricket Tasmania.

From 2022 to 2023, McDermott served as the assistant fielding coach for the Bangladesh national team but parted ways with the side due to disagreements with then-head coach Chandika Hathurusinghe. Before that, he spent three years with Sri Lanka’s senior men’s team as their fielding coach and also took charge of the Sri Lanka A team during his tenure.

After his stint in Bangladesh, McDermott joined Afghanistan’s coaching staff, where he received widespread praise for his role in the team’s impressive journey to the semi-finals of the ICC T20 World Cup in June 2024.

Earlier in his career, from 2012 to 2019, he held multiple roles at Cricket Australia’s National Cricket Centre, including interim assistant/fielding coach and interim analyst and fielding coach for the Australia A team.

Pakistan are set for a busy schedule, starting with a tour of Bangladesh, followed by a five-match T20I series in the West Indies.

Earlier this week, the Pakistan Cricket Board appointed former all-rounder Azhar Mahmood as acting head coach for the Test team. The board is also expected to name Salman Agha as the all-format captain, replacing Shan Masood (Tests) and Mohammad Rizwan (ODIs) in leadership roles.

–IANS

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