Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Chairman Mohsin Naqvi has broken his silence on the sudden resignation of Jason Gillespie as head coach of the Pakistan national team.
Gillespie, who joined as the red-ball coach earlier this year, stepped down ahead of the team’s tour to South Africa, expressing frustration over the PCB’s handling of coaching staff matters.
One of Gillespie’s main grievances was the sacking of his assistant coach, Tim Nielsen, without any consultation with him.
According to international media reports, Gillespie expressed frustration stated that, “There were certainly challenges. I went into the job eyes wide open… but the straw that broke the camel’s back was the lack of communication with my employer. I was blindsided by the decision to not have a high-performance coach.”
However, Nielsen’s dismissal was not the only issue Gillespie faced.
The board also restricted coaches from having a say in selection matters, which had been a point of contention for former white-ball coach Gary Kirsten, who also resigned earlier this year.
In response to these concerns, Naqvi stressed the distinction between the roles of coaches and selectors.
“The head coach’s role is to coach the team, while selectors manage the team selection process,” he stated.
Responding to a question, Naqvi clarified that PCB had earlier given an additional responsibility to a head coach as a selector, where he was part of the selection committee but did not have full authority over selection decisions, while Gillespie was appointed as a red-ball coach.
On December 12, the PCB confirmed Gillespie’s resignation as the head coach for Pakistan’s red-ball team and appointed former Pakistan cricketer Aqib Javed as interim red-ball coach for the South Africa Test series.
It is worth noting here that Gary Kirsten also resigned from his role as Pakistan’s white-ball coach just six months into his two-year contract.
Kirsten stepped down shortly before Pakistan’s tour of Australia, after which Gillespie was appointed interim head coach for the white-ball series against Australia.
