Gary Kirsten quits as PAK coach after just 6 months in charge following rift involving Gillespie, PCB; replacement named
Gary Kirsten is set to resign from his role as Pakistan's white-ball coach, won't join the team touring Australia and Zimbabwe.
The turmoil within Pakistan cricket continues despite their recent success against England in the Test series. After top order batter Fakhar Zaman was axed from the team, the freshest casualty of Pakistan’s white-ball is likely to be their coach Gary Kirsten.
As per a report from Cricbuzz, the South African coach is unhappy with some of the internal workings of the PCB, and will likely part ways ahead of Pakistan’s white-ball tour of Australia.
According to the report, Kirsten has faced frustrations due to a “difference of opinions” with the PCB. This largely hinges on the board’s refusal to appoint Kirsten’s choice as high performance coach, David Reid.
Kirsten was reportedly unhappy with the alternatives offered by the PCB, and the failure to see eye-to-eye on the matter has prompted the 2011 World Cup-winning coach to resign from the role. Kirsten has only been in the role for four months, having joined the Pakistan team in May.
ESPNcricinfo has also provided the information that there was a developing ‘rift’ between Kirsten and the PCB ahead of the Australia tour, with the decision to take away any input in team selection being cited as the reason. Test coach Jason Gillespie had earlier spoken about his shock and disappointment at being removed from the loop regarding team selection as well.
Gillespie named as replacement
Kirsten didn’t make a comment to Cricbuzz regarding the matter, with the board likely attempting to find a replacement for Kirsten. The South African oversaw Pakistan’s disastrous T20 World Cup campaign, where a loss to India and a shock super over defeat to hosts USA saw them knocked out in the group stages.
The PCB has provided an official statement on Kirsten's resignation, confirming that the board accepted the South African's request, and also named Gillespie as the new coach for the white-ball teams.
“The Pakistan Cricket Board today announced Jason Gillespie will coach the Pakistan men’s cricket team on next month’s white-ball tour of Australia after Gary Kirsten submitted his resignation, which was accepted,” states the PCB's statement.
Gillespie led the Pakistan team in their successful series against England, and the former Australian pacer will now double up on duties as the all-format coach for the national team.
Gillespie reportedly beat out the immensely popular Aaqib Javed, who is currently a selector for the national team, in becoming the white-ball coach as well.
This will be Pakistan’s second big leadership change ahead of the Australia series, with Mohammad Rizwan stepping in as captain for the ODIs and T20Is following Babar Azam opting to step down in the white-ball formats as well.
Pakistan’s 15-member squad will travel to Australia on Monday and Tuesday, ahead of their first ODI in Melbourne on November 4. Australia have named a rotated team, choosing to rest their Test players ahead of the five-match series against India.
