Pakistan cricket has found itself in yet another controversy as reportedly head coach Jason Gillespie has refused to join the Test squad in South Africa. This comes after assistant coach Tim Nielsen’s contract was not renewed by the PCB and Gillespie was not consulted.

After Pakistan's tour of Australia, Nielsen, who was hired in August as a "high-performance red-ball coach," had been waiting for a contract extension. However, as per the ESPNCricinfo report, Nielsen was informed his services were no longer required.

The decision to fire Nielsen was made without consulting Gillespie, which has greatly irritated him. His discontent is exacerbated by the fact that the PCB demoted him to "matchday strategist" and removed him from the selection panel in October.

Additionally, he has been disappointed that Nielsen's relationship with the players was not taken into account while making the choice.

And now Cricbuzz has reported that Jason Gillespie has refused to join the Test squad in South Africa where the team is scheduled to play two Test matches.

Gillespie, who was disgruntled by a few PCB decisions, was scheduled to fly to South Africa with the Test squad via Dubai on Thursday, but he was not seen. It is assumed that he has submitted his resignation.

Gillespie was signed by the PCB earlier this year for two years with the red ball team. The Test side had mixed fortunes, losing a series to Bangladesh for the first time in the format before winning a strong come-from-behind series against England, both of which were played at home.

The Gillespie scandal follows the departure of Gary Kirsten as the white ball coach. Kirsten was recruited with Gillespie in April of this year, but the South African opted to leave in October. The fact that two foreign coaches were unable to survive for even six months does not reflect well on Pakistani cricket.

The report further stated that Aaqib Javed, ma ember of the selection committee, will be asked to take over interim leadership of the red ball team. He is already in a similar interim position with the white ball squad, having been named coach till the Champions Trophy.

After the T20Is series, Pakistan will play 3 ODIs and two Tests, which are part of the current World Test Championship (WTC) cycle. The two Tests are in Centurion (from December 26) and Cape Town (January 3).