Pakistan cricket: Gary Kirsten reveals reasons for early exit as coach, says 'I'm too old for other agendas'
Gary Kirsten (X Photo)
Gary Kirsten
has opened up about his abrupt departure as Pakistan's white-ball coach, blaming internal power struggles and a lack of authority for his decision to step down just six months into the job.
Speaking on the Wisden Cricket Patreon podcast, the former South Africa opener and World Cup-winning coach detailed how he quickly realised his influence within the Pakistan setup was limited. 'It was a tumultuous few months. I realised quite quickly I wasn't going to have much of an influence,' Kirsten said.
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Appointed in April 2024, alongside
Jason Gillespie
for the red-ball role, Kirsten parted ways with the team in October, a day after Pakistan announced squads for their tours of Australia and Zimbabwe — selections he had no role in shaping.
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'Once I was taken off selection and asked to take a team and not be able to shape the team, it became very difficult as a coach then to have any sort of positive influence on the group,' he explained.
Kirsten's comments also highlighted a larger dysfunction within Pakistan cricket, with both he and Gillespie excluded from the revamped five-member selection committee. Gillespie later quit, citing the controversial sacking of high-performance coach
Tim Nielsen
as a trigger.
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Despite the setbacks, Kirsten left the door open for a return under better conditions. 'If I got invited back to Pakistan tomorrow, I would go… under the right circumstances,' he said. 'Cricket teams need to be run by cricket people. When there's a lot of outside noise — very influential noise — it's very difficult for leaders within the team.'
He concluded, 'I'm too old now to be dealing with other agendas. I just want to coach a cricket team, work with the players — and Pakistan's players are fantastic.'
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