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Shane McDermott Mohsin Naqvi for Pakistan. Image Credits: X
In a sudden development, Shane McDermott, who earlier resigned as Pakistan’s fielding coach, has joined Afghanistan. He will serve as the assistant and fielding coach for Afghanistan’s senior men’s team.
McDermott joined Pakistan as fielding coach back in 2025. However, despite intense training and fielding drills, Pakistan's fielding never consistently reached the level it had under former fielding coach Steve Rixon, who worked alongside former head coach Mickey Arthur.
Shane McDermott lands new job after Pakistan exit
Having said that, on July 11, Shane McDermott resigned as Pakistan's fielding coach after serving for about a year. The PCB did not disclose the reason behind his sudden exit.
His departure certainly surprised the fans as McDermott was expected to be part of Pakistan's support staff for the Asian Games.
Having said that, just days after leaving Pakistan, Shane McDermott managed to land a new job. The Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) officially announced that McDermott has returned to Afghanistan as the senior team's assistant and fielding coach.
He will begin work on August 1, ahead of Afghanistan's five-match ODI series against Ireland. The details about his tenure and overall contract, however, are still unknown.
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Shane McDermott returns to Afghanistan for second stint
Interestingly, this isn't Shane McDermott's first stint with Afghanistan. According to the ACB, he was Afghanistan's fielding coach from January 2024 to July 2025.
He then joined Pakistan in July 2025 only to quit in 2026 to return to Afghanistan. Also, McDermott is no ordinary coach. He previously worked with Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Australia as well.
McDermott also worked during major ICC tournaments, including the 2023 ODI World Cup, the 2022 and 2021 T20 World Cups.
As for Pakistan, Shane McDermott’s void hasn’t been filled as PCB are yet to appoint a replacement. Hence, Pakistan left for their West Indies tour without a new fielding coach in place.
PCB’s recent struggles with coaches
Shane McDermott’s exit marks yet another failure of PCB in keeping their coaching staff together. Before McDermott, Gary Kirsten and Jason Gillespie also resigned from head coach roles abruptly.
Kirsten was appointed as Pakistan's white-ball coach in April 2024 on a two-year deal but resigned just six months later. He was reportedly unhappy with PCB’s working culture and complained about loss of authority over the team's decisions.
On the other hand, Gillespie joined as Pakistan’s Test coach in 2024 and stepped down the same year. After his exit, Gillespie attacked PCB, saying he was not paid his dues.
Like Gary Kirsten, Jason Gillespie was reportedly unhappy with the coach's diminished influence over squad selection and criticised then selector Aaqib Javed by calling him a clown over instability.
Since then, PCB appointed a few interim coaches before signing Mike Hesson as the new full-time coach. But reports of conficts have not stopped as PCB chief Mohsin Naqvi is unable to keep the pack together.
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