Former Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman Ramiz Raja believes that Gary Kirsten’s premature exit as white-ball head coach will have a lasting impact on Pakistan cricket, possibly leading to backlash from international coaches in the future.
“It’s not good news because Pakistan needed an experienced hand like Gary Kirsten,” Raja told reporters.
“I don’t have inside information, but from a distance, it doesn’t look great to lose your coach right before the start of a tour,” he added.
Kirsten resigned as head coach of Pakistan’s ODI and T20I teams just six months after getting appointed to the role. The PCB has announced Test coach Jason Gillespie as the interim white-ball coach of the Pakistan team for the Australia tour, starting November 4.
Kirsten reportedly had disagreements with the PCB since the board decided to strip coaches of selection powers, with that authority exclusively the preserve of a selection panel — comprising Aleem Dar, Aaqib Javed, Azhar Ali, Asad Shafiq, and Hassan Cheema.
Ahead of the third Test against England in Rawalpindi, Gillespie expressed his frustration over the internal dynamics of PCB, saying that things are far from what he “signed up for”.
No wonder, Ramiz feels the PCB will face challenges in recruiting international coaches going forward.
“Right now, there’s a hodgepodge in Pakistan cricket. The selection committee is nominating the playing XI. I’m not too sure if this happens anywhere else in the world,” the ex-PCB chief noted.
“It’s not a straightforward situation because when someone like Gary Kirsten leaves the job, backlash is inevitable. People will speculate and want to know why he left. It’s not a great advertisement for Pakistan cricket,” he further remarked.
“What you need is to ensure that, once you involve someone, you provide them with clarity regarding their role. I don’t know if that clarity was provided to Gary Kirsten. In the future, Pakistan may face challenges in hiring international talent due to Kirsten’s resignation. It’s not going to be an easy job to attract international coaches,” he concluded.
