Basit Ali has taken a dig at Jason Gillespie after he resigned as head coach of Pakistan.© Pakistan Cricket
Former cricketer Basit Ali has taken a dig at Jason Gillespie after he resigned as head coach of Pakistan’s Test team. Former Australia pacer Gillespie’s resignation came after the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) didn’t review the contract of Tim Nielsen as the high-performance coach of the team. With Pakistan set to play in a two-match Test series against South Africa starting on Boxing-Day (December 26), Basit took a sly dig at Gillespie, saying that the timing of his resignation couldn’t have been more ideal for him as South Africa is not an easy place to Test cricket.
“He has made a very good decision not to go to South Africa. Why will he not go? Because South Africa isn’t an easy place,” Basit said on his YouTube channel.
Basit also remarked that Gillespie managed to improve his resumee by coaching Pakistan, adding that he won’t be surprise if both him and Nielsen will now get good offers from teams in the Indian Premier League (IPL).
“Keep everything in mind. Jason Gillespie wanted to make his CV, which he did. This was the best time for him to step down. Winning the series against England was a very big achievement. What happens in our country? People just make their CVs.”
“When Mickey Arthur was removed, people said that perhaps there would be no foreign coaches in Pakistan. Now, when these two have stepped down, you will see that they will get offers from other countries and franchises. They might go to the IPL,”he added.
On being asked to share his views on foreign coaches getting more preference in Pakistan, Basit joked a time would come when a foreigner will become Prime Minister of the country.
“Bring the chairman from outside too then. Does the chairman not appoint those whom he likes? In our country, the ones in charge of the State Bank also come from outside, right? One day, we will have to say that brother, bring the Prime Minister from outside too,” Basit said.
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