In an interesting change, the Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) has appointed former Pakistan national cricket team fielding coach, Shane McDermott as the new assistant and fielding coach of the Afghanistan national team, ahead of Afghanistan’s upcoming five-match ODI series against Ireland.
The ACB informed about the appointment in an official press release on its official platforms. Shane McDermott is expected to join the team on August 1. The Afghanistan cricket team’s tour of Ireland will be their first assignment under the newly signed contract.
ACB appoints Shane McDermott as new assistant coach of the national team
Kabul – July 29, 2026: The Afghanistan Cricket Board officially confirmed the appointment of Shane McDermott as the new assistant and fielding coach of the Afghanistan national team. McDermott is scheduled to… pic.twitter.com/3St8zlV3J6
– Afghanistan Cricket Board (@ACBofficials) July 29, 2026
Shane McDermott had resigned from Pakistan cricket team only eleven days ago.
Shane McDermott’s appointment comes after he quit the Pakistan cricket team just eighteen days ago. He resigned as the team’s fielding coach on 18 July and the ACB’s official announcement came on 30 July.
In most cases, national cricket boards take a long time to announce new arrivals to their coaching set-ups; ACB’s move appears to be the result of a more speedy and deliberate process.
Shane McDermott’s international coaching career in brief
Shane McDermott will join the team with years of experience in managing several national cricket teams including Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Pakistan. He was also previously associated with the Afghanistan cricket team.
In the official press release, the Afghanistan Cricket Board mentioned that the 45-year-old had previously worked for them from January 2024 to July 2025. And for Pakistan national cricket team, his tenure was from July 2025 to July 2026.
He gained extensive knowledge in Asian cricket through his duties with the Bangladesh cricket team and the Sri Lankan senior men’s team. From 2019 to 2021, the former Australian cricketer worked for Sri Lanka Cricket as the fielding coach of their senior cricket team and the head coach of the Sri Lanka A cricket team.
McDermott also worked closely with the Australian national cricket team when he was the national A team analyst and interim national team assistant and fielding coach at Cricket Australia’s National Cricket Center from 2012 to 2019 respectively.
During his roles with the national cricket teams, he contributed during major ICC tournaments such as the ODI World Cup 2023 and 2022 and the T20 World Cup in 2021.
Afghanistan to fly to Ireland for 5-match ODI series with new captain
Afghanistan team’s first match during the ODI series against Ireland will be on 5th August. Rahmat Shah has been made the captain of this format for the first time in his career. This series will be his first innings as the full-time captain of the national cricket team.
The first two matches of the 5-match competition will be held in Brady on 5 and 7 August and their base will shift to Belfast for the remaining three matches. The third, fourth and fifth matches will be held on 10, 12 and 15 August respectively.
This series will be very important for the Afghanistan cricket team, because they will have to play with a new captain and a new fielding coach.
