Pakistan’s red-ball format head coach, Jason Gillespie has requested the past players to refrain from unnecessary remarks about the present side as he thinks such affects the players in a deep way. Gillespie conceded that the television and Youtube travelogue comments by the former players hurt the cricketers more than they lost. “Every single player, every single staff member that I work with, I will be protective over and so I am careful that the kind of environment that we are hoping to achieve is for everyone’s benefit and if that gets damaged then that can cause some levels of irritability,” Gillespie narrated to Sky Sports.
The former Australian fast bowler requested the actors of yesterday to exercise caution when expressing their views, especially on social networking sites.
“A lot of ex-players have their own section in social media, be it YouTube or otherwise, and they get paid for sharing their thoughts. One thing that I have noticed here is that the players are very observant and even if they get some commendation from former players who they looked up to as kids, it helps them a lot when it comes to getting reinforcement.
“But it can have the opposite effect too if there’s a lot of feedback and negative criticism by those former players,” he said further.
Gillespie also inferred that it was disheartening for him with the limitations of his duties as the head coach
The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) had removed Gillespie and Test skipper Shan Masood from the selection committee, apart from relieving them of any influence in pitch preparation.
“I think there’s always frustration from time to time. For me when I came on board with Pakistan cricket, I was informed that there was a long-term plan and we need to ensure that our communication is right on point.
“I made that a real priority and I think you can get annoyed if those things are not completed in the manner in which you wish, ” Gillespie expressed.
The new south wales player would observe that the recent turmoil of the selection panel has curtailed his authority.
“It’s not what I agreed to, to be frank. However, this is one of those cases where one has to accept it as it is. I mean, I am in a new place and they do things differently over here.
“Some may support the approach some may not but in the end, I am here for a purpose which is t help the Pakistan team in whatever way possible i.e. improver the players. So, that has been my complete and utter attention and energy”, he stated.
Gillespie therefore remarked that the alteration of the selection committee thrice since he became head coach is a reflection of the other kind of environment.
“While I have been involved, we are already up to our third selection panel. These are just the things which you simply have to accept as a matter of fact and appreciate that we are in a different environment and move with it.
” I usually seek a number of clarifications asking a number of queries which as the head coach I reserve the right to,” he said.
