Cath Dalton will be joined by Alex Hartley as a part of the coaching staff for Multan Sultans in next year’s Pakistan Super League, making it the first time ever that two women will be part of the coaching staff of a men’s T20 franchise.

In a historic first, Sultans have announced Dalton and Hartley as the fast bowling and spin bowling coaches respectively. In a bid to accelerate gender equality, the franchise, which had earlier appointed Hijab Zahid as their general manager, will become one of the first men’s T20 clubs with women at the helm.

Dalton represented Ireland in eight internationals for a year from 2015 as well as playing for Essex. She will become the first female fast bowling coach in a top men’s side. She was also the first coach in the PSL history before news came in that Hartley had also been signed up by Sultans as a spin coach for the 2024 PSL.

Hartley, a 50-over World Cup winner with England in 2017, and a regular commentator with Test Match Special, announced her retirement from all forms of cricket in August. She played 28 ODIs along with four T20Is. She also has a Level 2 coaching qualification. This will be her first top-level coaching job, having previously coached age-group cricket at Lancashire.

Dalton has previously been involved with the Multan Sultans academy. She is an ECB-certified Level 3 Advanced Coach and has been involved with coaching positions at the Pace Foundation in India, where she worked with Deepak Chahar.

Speaking on the twin appointments, Ali Tareen, the managing director of the franchise told the Telegraph: “At the Multan Sultans, we value the structural development of cricket as highly as success on the pitch.

“One crucial aspect of this structural development is our unwavering focus on gender equity throughout the organisation. We take great pride in being guided by one of the world’s first female general managers in franchise cricket.

“Although exceptional women coaches exist globally, there has historically been a barrier hindering their entry into men’s teams as coaches – despite the fact that the opposite scenario is quite common.

“We would like to help break this barrier. At the Sultans, women coaches have been an integral part of our youth cricket academies for many years now, making their inclusion in our team a seamless and welcomed evolution.”

The tournament is scheduled to be held from February 8 to March 24 next year. Multan finished as runners-up in 2023.