Former Australia pacer Jason Gillespie is all set to begin his tenure as the head coach of the Pakistan Test team with the series against Bangladesh, due to start on August 21 in Rawalpindi.

Ahead of his maiden assignment, Gillespie has received the backing of his legendary Australian teammate Ricky Ponting.

According to Ponting, Gillespie is a bit like India’s newly-appointed head coach Gautam Gambhir and boasts an impressive record everywhere he's been.

Ponting also stated that Gillespie will face some challengers in his new job but will eventually find a way to succeed.

"Jason Gillespie is a bit like Gambhir. Pretty much everywhere he has been, his coaching record has been very very good. He will have some challenges I got no doubt about it. But he is a deep thinker and as I said, a quiet person that goes about it in his own way," Ponting said on ICC Review.

The batting great also revealed that him and other former teammates of Gillespie congratulated him on his new role and backed the changes made by Pakistan in their Test squad.

“We have got a few WhatsApp groups over the years, all of us old guys that have played together. So everyone's congratulated him and wished him luck in that role. And look, to be honest, I am not surprised at all by the amount of changes in that group. I know it is a different format but they had a very disappointing T20 World Cup. If you are not willing to make some changes, you are expecting similar results to come your way," he added.

Talking about Jason Gillespie, he has worked with PBKS in the Indian Premier League, Adelaide Strikers in the Big Bash League, England counties Yorkshire and Sussex, South Australia among others.

Pakistan Test squad for Bangladesh series: Shan Masood , Saud Shakeel , Aamir Jamal , Abdullah Shafique, Abrar Ahmed, Babar Azam, Kamran Ghulam, Khurram Shahzad, Mir Hamza, Mohammad Ali, Mohammad Huraira, Mohammad Rizwan , Naseem Shah, Saim Ayub, Salman Ali Agha, Sarfaraz Ahmed , Shaheen Afridi.