Pakistan fielding coach Shane McDermott quits

Pakistan's fielding coach Shane McDermott during a training session Getty Images

Pakistan fielding coach Shane McDermott has quit his role at the PCB. McDermott, who is currently in Australia, was appointed Pakistan's all-format fielding coach a year ago, and was scheduled to be part of support staff for the Asian Games in September. No reason for the resignation has yet been made public, though the decision is understood to have come as a surprise within the cricketing setup.

McDermott has held several fielding-specific coaching positions in a number of countries, serving as assistant fielding coach in Bangladesh for three years and another three with Sri Lanka. His first series with Pakistan was their three match T20I series in Bangladesh in July 2025. He replaced Mohammad Masroor as Pakistan's fielding coach.

Pakistan have had a number of fielding coaches for the men's national side ever since Mickey Arthur's first stint as head coach saw their fitness and fielding standards placed front and centre of his high performance philosophy. A highly successful partnership alongside Steve Rixon saw Pakistan's fielding markedly improve, but it was a trend that quickly reversed after Rixon walked away in 2018. Grant Bradburn replaced Rixon as fielding coach while Aftab Khan, Abdul Majeed and Masroor have all held the position at varying points over the last five years.

While Pakistan's fielding has never quite hit the heights it managed under Rixon, McDermott's time did see a renewed focus placed on the department, particularly in the form of higher-intensity drills during training and practice sessions. The PCB has not yet appointed a replacement with Pakistan's Test side due to leave for the West Indies for a tour game and a two-match series later this week.