Why Gillespie quit as Pakistan red-ball coach

IMAGE: Jason Gillespie was aware that the board had deprived him of his right to speak on selection matters, he expected that as head coach he would be consulted by the selectors during the selection. Photography: PCB/X

Jason Gillespie has decided to step down from his role as Pakistan’s red-ball coach after not being consulted over the selection of the national team for the upcoming two-Test series in South Africa.

A well-informed source, privy to the developments, revealed that some Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) officials had created a difficult environment for Gillespie, who, barely a month ago, had even been offer the position of head coach of the white ball tournament. team.

“Circumstances were created to make the former Australian player feel excluded from major decisions regarding the team,” the source said.

“First, despite his request, the board did not renew the contract of high performance coach Tim Nielsen, then the test team for the SA series was announced without consulting him,” a- he added.

The source said that although Gillespie was aware that the board had deprived him of a say in selection matters, he expected that as head coach he would be consulted by the selectors when selecting any series.

“Gillespie was also not happy that, while refusing to renew Nielsen’s contract which he had recommended, the board preferred to bring in Shahid Aslam from the national cricket academy as coach in support team on the recommendation of interim white-ball head coach and senior selector Aaqib,” the source added.

He said that in recent weeks, some officials were not regularly returning Gillespie’s calls, which irritated him. It was particularly frustrating as he had agreed to serve as interim coach for the white-ball series in Australia, where Pakistan won the ODI series for the first time since 2002.

The source said that foreign coaches who tried to assert their authority were never appreciated by some PCB officials. In the past, others, including Gillespie and Gary Kirsten, who resigned as white-ball head coaches before the Australia series due to authority issues, had met a similar fate.

“The sad thing is that some senior players also have a role to play in deciding which coach(s) they feel comfortable with and have the support of certain officials.”

Kirsten and Gillespie were appointed in March-April this year on two-year contracts, and the PCB chairman hailed their arrival as a significant step forward for Pakistan cricket.

Officials who created the circumstances leading to Gillespie’s resignation are now fueling rumors that the Australian is demanding a pay rise and is unwilling to spend the required time in Pakistan as stipulated in his contract, the source said .