An ex-cricker and a protea great, Gary Kirsten whose tenure as head coach for the Indian national team was during 2007-2011 and who was appointed as head coach for the Pakistani white ball teams in April 2024, is rumored to resign from the post.
As reported by Cricbuzz on Monday, October 28, it seems that the 56 – year – old South African who appeared in 101 test matches and 185 one-day internationals in an 11 – year – long career, will resume his responsibilities as head coach of the Men in Green’ s ODI and T20 squad.
It has been claimed that he will not accompany the Pakistani team, as a coach or any other role, to Australia for the three-match ODI and T20 series beginning on November 4 in Melbourne.
It has been established that the friction largely concerns the Pakistani players, as discrepancies of a serious nature were uncovered between Kirsten and the Pakistani players. Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has also reportedly stood in the way of him by preventing his wish of bringing in David Reid in charge of high-performance coaching. It is said that alternatives were presented to the chairman of the cricket franchise, but they were not acceptable to Kirsten.
Kirsten was a coach with the Pakistani team in May after he finished with the Indian Premier League (IPL) with the Gujarat Titans. During his period of engagement, Men in Green went to the USA for the 2024 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup. However, it was a memorable one for the 2009 champions as they were unable to make it into the knockout rounds for the first time finishing bottom of their group.
If in the next few weeks, Kirsten decides to resign from the position of the head coach of Pakistan Cricket, which may happen within six months of his appointment for the top job, Test head coach Jason Gillespie or recently retired Pakistan pacer Aqib Javed, who happens to be the chief architect of Pakistan’s recent 2-1 Test series win over England, may be appointed the new head coach of white-ball teams.
A number of white-ball series will take place in the next few months for Pakistan as part of their build up for the ICC Champions Trophy, which is set to be played in the three venues in Pakistan from February 19 to March 9.
After the Australia tour, Lamar travel to Zimbabwe for three ODIS and three T20’S then in December 2024-January 2025, an all-format tour of South Africa. And just before the ICC 8 teams tournament in February next year, Pakistan is also scheduled to face Zimbabwe and South Africa in a tri-series in Pakistan.
