New Delhi: Jason Gillespie has opened up about his decision to step down as Pakistan’s Test coach. Coaching Pakistan is a challenging task, particularly due to the internal politics within the board. Gillespie, along with Gary Kirsten, made the bold decision to take on the role, but neither lasted even a year. Kirsten resigned as the white-ball coach without coaching a single ODI, while Gillespie soon followed suit. The coaches were removed from the selection panel and shifted to match day strategists. Kirsten disagreed with this change and parted ways, while Gillespie stayed on. He was later asked to coach the team during a white-ball tour to Australia, where he led them to an ODI series victory.
However, when the board dismissed assistant coach Tim Nielsen without consulting head coach Gillespie, the former Australia pacer lost his patience and resigned. The PCB later appointed Aqib Javed as the interim head coach for all formats.
Gillespie cited his removal from selection matters and the sacking of Tim Neilsen without any prior communication as the two main reasons for his decision to resign as Pakistan coach.
“The straw that broke the camel’s back… as a head coach, you like to have clear communication with your employer, and I was completely blindsided by the decision to remove a high-performance coach,” Gillespie said on ABC Grandstand.
“My senior assistant coach, Tim Nielsen, was told his services were no longer required, and I had zero communication from anyone about that. After a number of other issues in the past few months, I felt that was the moment I realized they might not actually want me to do this job,” Gillespie said.
“When things started to change… and I felt my ability to help was severely diminished by a reduced role, I was basically just hitting catches on the morning of a game,” Gillespie said.
“You want to have clear communication with all stakeholders, including selectors, and know the team at least a day before the game to properly plan and prepare the players.
“That made it much harder to do my job effectively, and then the board decided not to let Tim travel to South Africa. I’ve heard that was on someone’s recommendation, which essentially made my job untenable,” he added.
Gillespie’s first assignment as Pakistan coach was the Test series against Bangladesh, where the team suffered a 2-0 defeat. Under Shan Masood’s leadership, the side also lost to England in the first Test but bounced back to win the final two games and claim the series.
