Pakistan pacer Shahnawaz Dahani made headlines on January 14 as he took to Twitter to share some candid photos with bowling coach Shaun Tait and captioned it in a manner that left a lot of cricket fans stunned.
The caption read, “Friend who brought smiles, left last night with tears”.
A friend who brought smiles, left last night with tears😢💔. #ShaunTait pic.twitter.com/fNU3ePTieP
— Shahnawaz Dahani (@ShahnawazDahani) January 14, 2023
Soon, fans issued all sorts of responses to the post; a handful of them took the post for Shaun Tait’s death. Some, on the other hand, asked Dahani to clear the message he intended to deliver.
So sad to know, when did this happen?
— Sumit (@sumitsaurabh) January 14, 2023
Arey bhai coaching tenure khatm hua hai Shaun Tait nhi.
— विनीत (@vineetgupta_17) January 14, 2023
Puri baat likha karo bhai, main samjha tait bhai rest in peace hogye 🤦
— Pehn Di Siri (@PehnDiSiri) January 14, 2023
Is Shaun Tait no more?
The rumor ran out of control and Shahnawaz Dahani had to share another Tweet to establish that he meant to bid Shaun goodbye from Pakistan Cricket and not the world.
Ary bhai Pakistan Cricket Team k baat kar rha hon. 🤦♂️ https://t.co/23ktxLNAs9
— Shahnawaz Dahani (@ShahnawazDahani) January 14, 2023
Though it has not been made official, Dahani’s post confirms Shaun Tait is not going to continue as Pakistan Cricket’s bowling head coach.
Notably, the 39-year-old former Kangaroo speedster was appointed as the bowling unit’s commander only in FEB 2022. Tait did well enough in the limited time at the helm and improved the skill of the Men in Green’s pace battery that helped them reach the finals of T20 WC 2022 ahead of more established teams like India, NZ or his home nation itself.
However, Tait is no longer tied with Pakistan Cricket thanks to the pacers failing to deliver in Babar and co.’s humiliating winless run against England and New Zealand in-home tests.
It is unclear whether it is the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) that sacked Shaun Tait or the veteran of 59 internationals left on his own accord. Tait had been public about him being made a scapegoat when the pace bowlers faltered and not getting any credit when the same set did well.
During a press conference at the recently concluded PAK vs NZ test series, Tait had lashed out at a couple of reporters for taking indirect digs at his job.
Though the reason for his departure remains a puzzle, one thing is clear: Shaun Tait is no more… the bowling coach of Pakistan.