Daniel Vettori leading the race for Assistant Coach of Australian team

As per the latest reports, Daniel Vettori is expected to don the role of the assistant coach of the Australian cricket team. Earlier this year, he temporarily worked as a spin consultant in the Australian coaching set-up for their tour to Pakistan.

If the development goes ahead, the former Kiwi spinner will join his fellow assistant Michael Di Venuto, who has been serving the Australian team since 2021.

The report states, "It appeared likely that the former New Zealand captain will regularly link up with the national men's team as McDonald builds his support staff."

Last month, Cricket Australia appointed Andrew McDonald as men's head coach for all three formats of the game. The tour of Sri Lanka, the T20 World Cup, and the tour of India will be the critical assignments for the Australian coaching staff this year.

Previously, McDonald and Vettori had worked together for the Royal Challenger Bangalore (RCB) in the Indian Premier League (IPL). Both the former cricketers were expected to be part of the coaching staff of Birmingham Phoenix in the men's Hundred competition before it was postponed for a year due to covid.

Last month, Vettori replaced McDonald as the head coach of the Phoenix team for the 2022 season of The Hundred.

The report further mentions Vettori is expected to join the Australian squad ahead of the Sri Lanka tour scheduled to be played in June if he and Cricket Australia reach terms.

It is evident that Vettori has scalped a total of 30 wickets at an average of 26.36 in seven Tests in Sri Lanka during his career and will serve as a vital staff member to groom the Australian spinners.

With McDonald having expertise with the pacers, the former Kiwi captain can serve as a complementary addition to the support staff. After the appointment as a head coach, McDonald had given a hint about the assistant coaches taking a senior position during different tours in his tenure.

In a total of 442 appearances across all three formats, Vettori successfully took over 700 wickets and scored more than 6500 runs establishing himself as one of the greatest players in New Zealand's history.