(Cricket News) Prior to the 2024 Pakistan Super League (PSL) season, the former South Africa all-rounder Johan Botha, who guided the Kings to a second-from-bottom finish with three wins from ten games in PSL 2023, was replaced as head coach of the Karachi Kings by former West Indies all-rounder Phil Simmons.

Botha had a lengthy coaching career spanning multiple stints with the West Indies, the last of which ended following the team’s first-round exit from the 2022 T20 World Cup in Australia. Currently, Simmons is the head coach of the Caribbean Premier League (CPL) and the LA Knight Riders in Major League Cricket (MLC).

In a statement, Simmons expressed his excitement about working with Kings team director Haider Azhar and going back to Karachi, a city he holds dear from his playing days. “I am thrilled to join forces with Haider Azhar and the rest of the team’s think tank, drawing from the rich cricketing heritage of this country,” Simmons said, referring to his one international match played in Karachi during the 1987 World Cup.

“We are excited to move forward with our rebuilding and restart process of Karachi Kings and establish this franchise as a match-winning unit,” Simmons said in a statement. “We are thankful to team owner Salman Iqbal, CEO Tariq Wasi, and Karachi Kings management for this opportunity.”

The Kings, who have only won one PSL championship in eight seasons, will be hoping that Simmons’ hiring will turn around their luck after they failed to qualify for the tournament’s playoffs in 2022 and 2023.

Simmons’ first task will be building the team during the player draft on Wednesday. The players on the Kings’ roster are captain Shan Masood, James Vince, Hasan Ali, Shoaib Malik, Tabraiz Shamsi, Mir Hamza, Muhammad Akhlaq, and Muhammad Irfan Khan. The PSL season of 2024 is slated to begin on February 13 and end on March 18.

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