Gary Kirsten, the former South African cricketer, has stepped down from Pakistan men’s white-ball head coach after only six months in the position. Pakistan men’s Test team head coach Jason Gillespie will take over the role and will coach the Men in Green against Australia in the upcoming T20Is. Notably, Kirsten’s resignation came just hours after the announcement of Pakistan’s new white-ball captain and vice-captain, Mohammad Rizwan.
Gary Kirsten was appointed as Pakistan's white-ball head coach in April 2024 and his tenure lasted only six months. During his time, Pakistan competed in just one tournament—the 2024 T20 World Cup—where they were unable to go beyond the group-stage, losing against India and the USA.
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PCB Announces Jason Gillespie As Pakistan's White-Ball Coach
Taking to X (formerly Twitter), the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) issued a statement announcing that the board accepted Kirsten’s resignation and Gillespie will step in as the head coach for Pakistan’s men’s team across all formats.
“The Pakistan Cricket Board today announced Jason Gillespie will coach the Pakistan men’s cricket team on next month’s white-ball tour of Australia after Gary Kirsten submitted his resignation, which was accepted,” PCB said on X.
Gary Kirsten earned heavy praise for his coaching after he coached Team India to an ODI World Cup win in the 2011 edition at home with MS Dhoni as the captain of the team.
Kirsten Resigns Amid Leadership Shake-Up In Pakistan Cricket
Interestingly, the news of Kirsten’s resignation as Pakistan’s white-ball coach comes only a few days after red-ball coach Gillespie’s revelation that the PCB had stripped him of having any say in the team selection matters after Pakistan’s humiliating loss to England at home in the first Test of the recently-concluded three-match Test series, which Pakistan eventually won by 2-1.
“I’m now just the coach for match day strategy. So, I keep out of things now and just focus on the players and getting them ready for cricket,” Gillespie had said.
Pakistan are set to face Australia in three ODIs and three T20Is from November 4 to 18 Down Under, before heading to Zimbabwe for a series of six limited-overs matches.