IPL 2022: Shane Watson joins Delhi Capitals as assistant coach

Shane Watson (assistant coach) will join Ricky Ponting (head coach), Ajit Agarkar (assistant coach), Pravin Amre (assistant coach) and James Hopes (bowling coach) as part of the backroom staff at Delhi Capitals. This is the first time the former Australia allrounder will be involved with any team in a coaching capacity.

"With Delhi Capitals, they have got a great squad," he said in a press release issued by the franchise. "Now is the time to win their first title. I am super pumped to get over there, work with the boys, help them out as much as I can and hopefully, we can win the first title. Can't wait to get over there."

Watson has varied experience as a player in franchise T20 cricket, having won titles in the IPL, BBL and PSL. An MVP during Rajasthan Royals' run to the title in the inaugural edition in 2008, Watson finished his IPL career with Chennai Super Kings. In Super King's victorious 2018 season, he played a key role as an opener, contributing 555 runs - the second-most for the team - in 15 innings. In the final, Watson struck a match-winning century against Sunrisers Hyderabad. In between, he was also part of Royal Challengers Bangalore briefly.

"The IPL is the best T20 tournament in the world," he said. "I've got incredible memories as a player, first of all with Rajasthan Royals winning it in 2008, led by the incredible man Shane Warne, RCB and then CSK. I've got incredible memories as a player, and now coaching opportunities.

"It has come to be able to work under the great Ricky Ponting. He was an amazing leader as a captain, and now to be able to coach under him. He is one of the best coaches in the world now. So, for me to be able to learn the ropes under Ricky, I am really excited."

While Watson did play 59 Tests for Australia, it was the white-ball cricket where he was at his best. In 190 ODIs, he scored 5757 runs at 40.54 with a strike rate of 90.44, in addition to taking 168 wickets at 31.79. He was part of two World-Cup winning Australia sides, in 2007 and 2015, and was a powerhouse performer in the Champions Trophy, winning the Player-of-the-Match award in the finals of both the 2006 and 2009 tournaments.

In T20Is he made 1462 runs at a strike rate of 145.32 and took 48 wickets while maintaining an economy rate of 7.65. He was the Player of the Series in the 2012 T20 World Cup in Sri Lanka, where he topped the run charts with 249 runs at a strike rate of 150.00 and finished second on the wickets chart with 11 scalps while conceding 7.33 runs per over. He retired from all forms of cricket in November 2020 following a disappointing IPL season with Super Kings, where they failed to make the playoffs for the first time.