Michael Hussey is on the verge of becoming the stand-in coach for Australia during the Twenty20 international series against Sri Lanka in February 2017.
Cricket Australia confirmed on Monday that they are looking for a caretaker coach for the series against Sri Lanka and Hussey seems to be the front-runner at the moment.
The 41-year old, also known as ‘Mr Cricket’ among cricket enthusiasts, announced his retirement from all forms of cricket last season after winning KFC Big Bash League title with Sydney Thunder. He is currently acting as the director of cricket for the team. In his illustrious international career, Hussey represented his nation in 38 Twenty20 Internationals and boasts of an average of 37.94.
Australia are slated to play three Twenty20 Internationals against Sri Lanka in February 2017. The first match will be on February 17 at the MCG, followed by a match on February 19 at the new Kardinia Park stadium in Geelong. The final match will be on February 22 at the Adelaide Oval.
Earlier in the year, Hussey ruled out the possibility of taking a full-time coaching job, but he was open to pursue smaller roles.
Talking to Cricket Australia, he said, “I’m interested in it (coaching), but I’m not sure I’m keen to be in it in a full-time capacity. If you’re with an international team you’re pretty much on the road for 10 months a year and that’s certainly one of the reasons why I retired.”
“It’s certainly not something that I’m looking to get back into on a full-time basis. Perhaps down in the future and certainly coming in as a consultant type and helping out for a few weeks here or there, is something that’s really interesting.”
The other big names who are being considered for the job are Yorkshire coach Jason Gillespie, former skipper Ricky Ponting and Aussie spin wizard Shane Warne.