Gary Kirsten has resigned from his post as Pakistan head coach for the ODI and T20I teams less than a week before the Pakistan cricket team is to tour Australia, leaving only six months of his tenure into the appointment. The Test coach, Jason Gillespie, is to temporarily cover the vacancy.
Kirsten resigned at a time when the PCB was accused of creating friction with him after the board stripped the coaching staff of selection powers and re-routed them to a new selection committee. The move left Kirsten and Gillespie frustrated as Gillespie had earlier aired his concerns over his role going steadily away, saying he felt like more of a “match-day analyst”. This change is part of greater changes in Pakistan cricket as a new panel has been appointed headed by Aaqib Javed, Aleem Dar, Azhar Ali, and others. More significantly, the cricket board announced Mohammad Rizwan as the new captain for white-ball cricket. Salman Agha would accompany him as the deputy.
Sources report that Kirsten was left a little forlorn as the decision-making process was handed over to the selection committee. The PCB has introduced a more centralized system of control that removes coaching staff from any serious debate regarding strategy during the past couple of months. The appointment of Kirsten, who was so meticulous in his preparations for India that led them to clinch the ODI World Cup last time around, would provide much-needed experience entering into this tournament when going to the ICC Champions Trophy set to be staged in Pakistan in 2025. His tenure was not trouble-free, though, for Pakistan was knocked out of the T20 World Cup after losing to the USA and India.
Pakistan is scheduled to start its tour of Australia on November 4, and the PCB officials will have to cram the rest of the season into a tight schedule to settle the permanent appointment in place of Kirsten. In the meantime, Gillespie will lead the team to Australia as Pakistan’s search for stability in the coaching department continues.
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