PCB approached NZ batting coach Luke Ronchi to coach Pakistan

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has approached New Zealand (NZ) batting coach Luke Ronchi to become the head coach for Pakistan. Luke is currently serving as batting coach of New Zealand.

According to media reports, Luke Ronchi has requested some time before making a choice. PCB also approached the NZ batting coach Luke Ronchi to be their head coach. Luke declined the offer of PCB last year and hence PCB appointed Grant Bradburn as PCB head coach.

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has approached former New Zealand wicket-keeper batsman Luke Ronchi to coach the national side's head coach. pic.twitter.com/sxozvoJQJ2
— Economy.pk (@pk_economy) March 26, 2024

Luke achieved a rare accomplishment by representing his hometown countries, New Zealand and Australia. Following his limited-overs debut for Australia in 2008, he played four Tests, 85 ODIs, and 33 T20Is. In league cricket, he has represented Guyana Amazon Warriors, Islamabad United, Mumbai Indians, and Perth Scorchers.

The development from PCB comes after Shane Watson, Mike Hesson, and Darren Sammy declined to coach Pakistan. Shaen prefers to fulfill his current coaching and commentary commitments rather than quitting them at short notice.

His obligations include commentating on the Indian Premier League (IPL). He has recently served as the head coach of Major League Cricket’s San Francisco Unicorns and Quetta Gladiators.

Meanwhile, Saint Lucian cricketer Darren Sammy turned down PCB’s offer citing his existing contract with the West Indies board as head coach of white-ball teams.

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However, PCB is looking to hire a quality coaching staff for the cricket team. The PCB is considering appointing local coaches and overseas experts to fill the gap in time for the next home T20I series against New Zealand. The five-match T20I series between Pakistan and New Zealand will begin on April 18, 2024.

The major developments in PCB came after Mickey Arthur, Grant Bradburn, and Andrew Puttick of the National Cricket Academy (NCA) resigned from their respective roles in January this year.

Mickey was the Director of the Pakistan Men’s Cricket Team. Grant served as Head Coach of the Pakistan Men’s National Team while Andrew worked as batting coach.