Lahore: Following their T20 World Cup debacle, Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has given head coaches Gary Kirsten and Jason Gillespie a free hand to look after the team’s performances, according to sources. While Kirsten was chosen as the white-ball head coach, Gillespie will specialize in Tests. Notably, Kirsten was less than a month old when Pakistan made a group-stage exit in the T20 World Cup 2024 where the Men in Green lost to newcomers USA and arch-rivals India. Pakistan did win two games against Ireland and Canada but that didn’t help their cause.
PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi on Tuesday met both Kirsten and Gillespie and both coaches shared their plans for the national team. According to the PCB, Naqvi told both coaches that he had full confidence in them and they would get full backing from the cricket board.
“Kirsten was blunt in laying down his concerns about the white-ball team based on the World Cup,” said a PCB source. Both the head coaches told the PCB chairman that they wanted to set clear guidelines about the fitness levels required to be considered for Pakistan team selection.
“Naqvi told them they should do whatever is necessary to change the fortunes of the team and no one would ask them to make any compromises on selection or the fitness of players,” the source added. Kirsten had warned senior pros in the side following the team’s loss to the USA and India to adapt to new skill-sets and improve their game awareness, or get left behind.
Senior team manager, Wahab Riaz, in his report submitted to Naqvi, had outlined personality clashes in the side during the World Cup. “The PCB chief said both the coaches had a free hand to take whatever decisions they wanted to improve the performances of the team in red-ball and white-ball formats.”
Assistant coach Azhar Mahmood was also present during the meeting. The source added that Kirsten, while discussing his experience with the Pakistan team during the World Cup, told Naqvi that there was a need to rebuild combinations in the white-ball format and also change the mindset of players. Kirsten has also worked with the Indian team and comes to Pakistan with a big reputation.
