Former Australian all-rounder Shane Watson has joined Quetta Gladiators as head coach ahead of PSL 2024. He replaced Moeen Khan who was promoted to team manager after being the team’s coach for 8 years.

Reports from ESPN Cricinfo say that the contract between Watson and Quetta Gladiators is finalized and a formal announcement will be made later on Wednesday. Watson’s appointment has been made with the intention of him reviving the fortunes of the franchise and taking it to the playoffs in a new season. Quetta has not made it to the PSL playoffs in the last four seasons.

Shane Watson played for Quetta Gladiators between 2018 and 2020

The Gladiators reached the PSL final in three of the first four seasons and won the title in 2019. Watson played for the Gladiators for three seasons between 2018-2020. He was the leading run-scorer during his victorious campaign in 2019, making 430 runs at a strike rate of 143.81.

The Gladiators, who were at their peak during the first four editions of the PSL, have lost their reputation in recent years. They have stuck with Moeen Khan as coach and are expected to continue with Sarfaraz Ahmed as captain next season.

Talking about Watson’s coaching experience, he served as assistant coach of Delhi Capitals in IPL 2022 alongside Ricky Ponting, the head coach of the franchise.

In 190 ODIs, he scored 5757 runs at 40.54 with a strike rate of 90.44 and took 168 wickets at 31.79. He was part of two Australian World Cup winning teams – in 2007 and 2015. In T20Is, he made 1462 runs at a strike rate of 145.32 and took 48 wickets while maintaining an economy rate of just 7.65.

Talking about his statistics as a Test cricketer, Watson played 59 Test matches and scored 3731 runs at an average of 35.2 with four centuries and 24 fifties. He scored with a strike rate of 52.59 in the format.

The PSL 2024 season starts from February 8 to March 24, 2024. The matches will be played in Multan, Karachi, Rawalpindi and Lahore.

Also Read: “We don’t expect everyone to play…” – Rahul Dravid