Gary Kirsten and Jason Gillespie join PCB as red-ball and white-ball coaches, respectively.
The long-standing ambiguity surrounding the coaching of the Pakistan cricket team was finally resolved on Sunday when Mohsin Naqvi, the chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), named Australia’s Jason Gillespie and South Africa’s Gary Kirsten as the men’s side coaches.
During a news conference in Lahore, Naqvi announced that the board had appointed Kirsten as the team’s white-ball coach and Gillespie as the team’s red-ball coach.
In addition, Naqvi mentioned that Azhar Mahmood, a former cricket player, who was named head coach by the PCB for the squad for the recently finished T20I series against New Zealand, will take on the role of assistant coach for both formats.
The PCB chief stated that the coaches’ appointment is for a two-year term.
Praying for Kirsten and Gillespie’s stellar record, Naqvi said he was sure that their experience would lead the players to greater heights and that their appointment is a fantastic chance for Pakistani players to learn from these seasoned pros, honing their craft and strengthening their cricket knowledge.
This development follows the vacancy of the aforementioned positions, which resulted from the transfer of Mickey Arthur, Grant Bradburn, and Andrew Puttick to the National Cricket Academy (NCA) in Lahore in November 2023 due to a modification in their portfolios brought about by a change in PCB configuration.
All three of them resigned from their jobs in January of this year.
Regarding the timing of the new coaches’ arrival, the PCB chairman disclosed that Gillespie would join the squad for the Bangladesh series, while Kirsten will join the Green Shirts for the England tour.
In response to a query on why the board does not favor local coaches because of the language barrier, Naqvi stated that the goal of hiring foreign coaches is to strengthen the squad and that even if a player did not speak English, he would pick it up.
Regarding the future of the team’s leadership, the PCB head further stated that Babar Azam will carry out his duties as the captain of the national team till Pakistan hosts the Champions Trophy in 2025.
Additionally, he said that the International Cricket Council (ICC) has already received the Champions Trophy schedule.
Regarding the reported carelessness by the board in managing bowler Ishanullah’s elbow injury, the chairman declined to comment, stating that the cricket player’s medical report will be ready by Tuesday and that the negligent party will face consequences.
Who are Pakistan’s new foreign coaches?
From 1993 until 2004, Kirsten played for South Africa in 185 ODIs and 101 Tests, scoring 14,087 runs with 34 centuries. When he was appointed, he stated that his objective as the team’s white-ball coach would be to make sure the group plays at its best.
He stated, “My aim is to bring the Pakistan men’s white-ball team together, utilizing their exceptional talents for a shared goal, and succeeding on the field as a team.”
Previously, he was India’s coach from 2008 to 2011, guiding them to both the top spot in the ICC Test Team Rankings and the 2011 ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup.
After that, he led the South African men’s cricket team to the top of the ICC Test Team Rankings from 2011 to 2013.
Kirsten is now the batting coach for the Gujarat Titans, the 2022 championship winners in the Indian Premier League (IPL).
In the meanwhile, Gillespie, a former fast bowler for Australia, was a member of the team that won the 2003 ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup. He played 71 Tests, 97 ODIs, and one T20I between 1996 and 2006, amassing a total of 402 wickets.
Regarding his position with the Green Shirts, the Australian emphasized that the success of the national team will depend on how many excellent fast bowlers they had and how they used them.
“I also think it’s fantastic that Pakistan has such a large talent pool. I like to think that I can contribute in some little manner to the players’ development. I’m assuming this job because I want to win Tests,” he declared.
Gillespie is recognized for having coached England’s Jonny Bairstow, Gary Ballance, and Joe Root during his tenure with Yorkshire, the team that won consecutive County Championship championships in 2014 and 2015. Gillespie is an accredited Level 4 coach by the England Cricket Board (ECB).
In addition, the former cricket player coached Zimbabwe (2010–2012) and Papua New Guinea (2017), as well as the Adelaide Strikers of the Big Bash League (BBL) from 2015–2024 (the team won the 2017–18 season),
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