Gary Kirsten has resigned as the head coach of Pakistan’s ODI and T20I sides. Kirsten, who was appointed by the PCB on a two-year contract in April 2024, lasted barely six months in the role.
ESPNcricinfo has learnt a public statement to this effect will be put out imminently.
There had been a rift developing between Pakistan’s newly-appointed coaches, Kirsten and Jason Gillespie, and the PCB since the board decided to strip them of selection powers, with that authority exclusively the preserve of a selection committee they would no longer be a part of. Gillespie had made little effort to conceal his surprise at the events in the build-up to the third Test in Rawalpindi against England, saying he was now just a “match-day analyst”, and that “it wasn’t what he signed up for.”
Kirsten did not make a public statement, but was understood to be disappointed with the developments. ESPNcricinfo has learnt part of the delay in announcing a squad and new limited-overs captain was down to animated discussions within the board, with Kirsten keen to have his input taken into consideration. Ultimately, though, when the new captain Mohammad Rizwan was announced at a press conference in Lahore, chairman Mohsin Naqvi was flanked only by Aaqib Javed, a member of the new selection committee, and the new captain and vice-captain Salman Agha. Kirsten was not even in the country at the time.
More to follow…
Source: ESPN Crickinfo