Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman Mohsin Naqvi has cleared the air on Jason Gillespie‘s resignation as head coach of the Test team. The former Australia pacer Gillespie stepped down from his role earlier this month after PCB decided not to extend high performance coach Tim Nielsen’s contract. Gillespie was also upset over the fact that the PCB had also barred the coaches from having a say in the selection matters, a decision which had led to the ouster of white-ball coach Gary Kirsten.

“There were certainly challenges. I went into the job eyes wide open, I want to make that really clear. I knew that, you know, Pakistan had cycled through a number of coaches in a pretty short space of time. The straw that broke the camel’s back, I suppose, was, as a head coach, you like to have clear communication with your employer. I was completely and utterly blindsided by a decision to not have a high-performance coach,” Gillespie had told ABC Sport following his resignation.

With Pakistan set to take on South Africa in a two-match Test series, starting from Boxing Day, PCB chief Naqvi has shared his views on Gillespie’s sudden departure.

“The head coach’s role is to coach the team, while the selection committee is supposed to select players,” Naqvi told Geo News.

Both Gillespie and Kirsten were appointed on a two-year contract before the T20 World Cup 2024 and the PCB had promised a new era for the Pakistan team.

But once Aaqib Javed was brought in as senior selector and PCB granted him full powers including in team selection, the foreign coaches started falling out with the board.

Javed has also been appointed as the interim coach of the team across all three formats.

Pakistan lost the T20I series against South Africa, before turning the tables in the ODIs.

(With PTI Inputs)

Jason Gillespie, who was appointed as Pakistan’s Test team head coach in April this year, stepped down from his role. Following Gillespie’s resignation, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has named Aqib Javed as interim red-ball head coach of the Test team. In Gillespie’s last assignment as the Pakistan head coach, the team overcame a 1-0 deficit to emerge victorious in a three-Test series against England at home in October. Pakistan are currently contesting a three-match T20I series against the Proteas, which will be followed by as many ODIs. The two-Test series will begin thereafter at the Centurion on Boxing Day.

Aqib’s first assignment as red-ball head coach will be the two-match Test series against South Africa during the ongoing all-format tour.

The first Test is scheduled at the SuperSport Park in Centurion from December 26 to 30. The second Test will be played at the Newlands Cricket Ground in Cape Town from January 3 to 7.

Pakistan, who are out of contention for a spot in next year’s WTC Final, currently placed seventh in the ICC World Test Championship points table, have four more Tests remaining in the ongoing cycle.

While South Africa, currently occupying the top spot in the points table, have emerged as a frontrunner for the summit clash following the recent 2-0 drubbing of Sri Lanka at home.

Former pacer Aaqib Javed will remain Pakistan’s interim head coach in limited-overs cricket till the Champions Trophy and will also continue in his role on the national selection panel, the Pakistan Cricket Board confirmed on Monday. The board said while Javed will handle responsibilities of the being the team’s head coach, it will continue its search for another candidate. “The PCB will aim to complete the appointment by the end of the ICC Champions Trophy scheduled from February 19 to March 9,” an official said. Javed has coached Pakistan Super League side Lahore Qalandars in the past and also the Sri Lankan team for a short stint earlier this year as their fast bowling coach.

The board said Javed will be assigned additional responsibilities after the Champions Trophy.

Javed was roped in after Pakistan’s white ball coach Gary Kirsten resigned before the tour of Australia due to some differences with the PCB.

Kirsten’s exit led to PCB asking their red-ball coach Jason Gillespie to manage the affairs during their Australia tour on an interim basis.

The former Australian bowler was also approached for a regular run as the head coach but he turned down the offer.

Pakistan are set to tour Zimbabwe for three ODIs and as many T20Is from November 24 to December 5, followed by a trip to South Africa for three ODIs, three T20Is and two Tests.

Current national selector and former pacer Aaqib Javed is likely to be appointed as the permanent head coach in white ball formats before Pakistan visit Zimbabwe for ODI and T20I series. Pakistan will travel to Zimbabwe between November 24 and December 5 for three ODIs and as many T20Is. A reliable source in the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) said Javed who was initially reluctant to take on the coaching assignment had now been convinced by chairman Mohsin Naqvi to handle the responsibility. “The Pakistan squad will fly to Harare straight from Australia after playing their final T20I on Monday so the new head coach will join them in Zimbabwe,” the source said.

Javed, who is presently the senior national selector, has vast coaching experience with the Lahore Qalandars in the Pakistan Super League (PSL) and recently was also the bowling coach of Sri Lanka.

He was also the bowling coach of Pakistan and the head coach of the under-19 side in the past.

The PCB initially wanted Australian Jason Gillespie, the Test side’s coach, to take over as the white ball head coach as well but he declined the offer to spend time with his family.

Gillespie was asked to be the interim coach for the white ball series in Australia after South Africa’s Gary Kirsten resigned before the tour to Australia.

Pakistan will fly to South Africa from Zimbabwe for a white ball series and two Tests before returning home in January.

Pakistan won a Test on home soil after a gap of more three years on Friday, beating England by 152 runs in the second match in Multan to level the three-game series 1-1. Pakistan’s new selection committee made some unexpected changes to the squad for the last two Tests, dropping the likes of star batter Babar Azam and pacer Shaheen Afridi. The decision received mixed response from fans of Pakistan cricket. While some suggested that dropping out-of-form batter Babar was a mistake, others hailed the new selection committee for making the right call.

Former Pakistan pacer Aaqib Javed, who is part of the new selection committee, has now opened up on his chat with India head coach Gautam Gambhir, who had asked him about the dire state of Pakistan cricket.

“We met the Indian players during our series against Sri Lanka. Gautam Gambhir ne mujhe kaha ke ‘Aaqib bhai, yeh Pakistan cricket ko kya ho gaya hai? Itna talent hai, hum bhi dekhte hain, sab kuch hai, inhone kiya kya hai?’ (Gambhir asked me what has happened to Pakistan cricket despite so much talent and everything, what have they done?),” Javed told Public Digital News.

Aaqib revealed that Gambhir too was sorry about the situation as India vs Pakistan matches won’t have the same thrill if one team is significantly inferior than the other.

“He (Gambhir) also feels sorry about it, because there are a few (top-level) teams, and the Pakistan-India matches provide the biggest thrill. So if your team (Pakistan) falls like that then one of the game’s biggest matches loses its charm,” he added.

Meanwhile, Noman Ali grabbed 8-46 and Sajid Khan took 2-93 as the pair wrapped up England’s second innings for 144 after the visitors were set a daunting target of 297. 

The 152-run victory was Pakistan’s first home win since February 2021 and came after they were thumped by an innings in the first Test on the same Multan pitch.

The final Test starts in Rawalpindi on October 24.

(With AFP Inputs)