Talks To Appoint Former Mumbai Indians Star As Head Coach Are Ahead For The Pakistan Cricket Board

The home T20 series against New Zealand should start soon after the contract with Ronchi is finalized.

Luke Ronchi, a former wicketkeeper-batter from New Zealand and Australia, has emerged as the front-runner for the position of head coach of the Pakistan Cricket Board. "Extensive discussions" had been held with the 42-year-old Ronchi, who has also managed Islamabad United of the Pakistan Super League, according to a PCB source on Wednesday. "With no high-profile coach showing interest in working for the PCB as most of them are already committed with different leagues or have reservations working in Pakistan cricket, the search has come down to Ronchi," stated a source.

Before the home T20 series against New Zealand starts, he stated that the contract with Ronchi should be finalized in the coming days.

Ronchi served as coach and batting consultant for the New Zealand team after he retired from playing professional cricket.

According to the source, the PCB team reached out to a few prominent trainers, but the majority of them were unwilling to work with the Pakistan board or were already committed to other projects.

"Given the history of the PCB in dealing with foreign and local coaches, obviously one can understand the reservations of some foreign coaches," he stated.

According to the source, Ronchi has not responded positively thus far and has requested a definite guarantee that he will be assigned a suitable schedule to collaborate with the Pakistani team for an extended period, regardless of the outcome.

 
"He wants clear assurances that his performance will only be evaluated after a certain period of time, not after every series or event," according to a source.

Mohsin Naqvi, the head of PCB, had last week accused Shane Watson of withdrawing from the conversation due to information about his remuneration and other specifics of a potential coaching deal being leaked.

In anticipation of the T20 World Cup in June, the PCB has already begun its training camp at the Kakul army post. The training camp began in April with Pakistan's home series against New Zealand.

Ronchi is one of the select few cricket players who has played for both Australia and New Zealand in international competitions. PTI Cor AM AM AM