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The Hindu
13 hours ago
- Sport
- The Hindu
I realised quickly that I will not have much influence on the team: Gary Kirsten on his stint as Pakistan coach
World Cup-winning coach Gary Kirsten has opened up about his ill-fated stint as head coach of the Pakistan white-ball team, where he submitted his resignation just six months into the job. Kirsten took over the reins of Pakistan's white-ball coaching in April 2024, with Jason Gillespie taking over the Test team. Both coaches were removed from the national selection panel after Pakistan lost the first Test at home against England. Kirsten handed his resignation a day after teams for ODI and T20I tours of Australia and New Zealand were picked last year. 'It was a tumultuous few months. I realised quite quickly I wasn't going to have much of an influence. 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,' Kirsten said on the Wisden Cricket Patreon podcast. Kirsten, however, suggested that he would be open to returning as coach if there was no 'influential noise' and if the circumstances were right. 'If I got invited back to Pakistan tomorrow, I would go, but I would want to go for the players, and I would want to go under the right circumstances,' he said. ALSO READ | Shubman Gill says he would like to build a 'secure' culture for Team India 'Cricket teams need to be run by cricket people. When that's not happening and when there's a lot of noise from the outside that's very influential noise, it's very difficult for leaders within the team to walk a journey that you feel like you need to walk in order to take this team to where it needs to go. 'I'm too old now to be dealing with other agendas, I just want to coach a cricket team, work with the players – I love the Pakistan players, they're great guys. I had a very short period of time with them, and I feel for them. More than any other team in the world, they feel the pressure of performance massively, when they lose it's hectic for them and they feel that. Former Pakistan cricketer Aaqib Javed took over as interim head coach after Kisten stepped down, before he was replaced in the white-ball formats by Mike Hesson.
Express Tribune
13 hours ago
- Sport
- Express Tribune
‘I realised quickly I had no influence': Kirsten on quitting Pakistan job
Listen to article Former South African cricketer and renowned coach Gary Kirsten has broken his silence on the internal turmoil that led to his abrupt resignation as Pakistan's white-ball head coach, admitting he 'realised quite quickly' he would have little influence in the role. In a candid conversation on the Wisden Cricket Patreon podcast, Kirsten laid bare the frustrations that defined his brief stint with the national side, emphasising that Pakistan's cricketing environment lacked the structure and autonomy needed for coaching success. 'Cricket teams need to be run by cricket people,' Kirsten said. 'Once I was taken off selection and asked to take a team I hadn't helped shape, it became very difficult to have any sort of positive influence.' Kirsten was appointed Pakistan's white-ball coach in April 2024 alongside Jason Gillespie, who took charge of the Test side. Their appointments were widely welcomed as part of a new direction under the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB). But what followed was anything but stable. Read More: 'It's a jungle out there,' Mickey Arthur slams Pakistan cricket after Javed-Gillespie row By October — barely a day after the squads for Pakistan's ODI and T20I tours of Australia and Zimbabwe were announced — Kirsten had submitted his resignation. At the time, murmurs of a growing power rift between the coaching staff and the PCB had already begun surfacing. Kirsten and Gillespie were notably left out of the five-member selection committee that picked squads for the latter stages of England's Test series and the subsequent white-ball fixtures. The exclusion was seen as a clear indication of waning authority, leaving the foreign coaching duo increasingly marginalised in cricketing decisions. 'It was a tumultuous few months,' Kirsten reflected. ' I realised quite quickly I wasn't going to have much of an influence. When there's a lot of outside noise — very influential noise — it becomes impossible to lead a team in the right direction.' While Kirsten stepped away in October, Gillespie followed soon after, resigning ahead of the South Africa Test series in December. He later revealed that the PCB's decision to part ways with high-performance coach Tim Nielsen — his former Australian colleague — influenced his own departure. 'It left a sour taste,' Gillespie said. Despite the turbulence, Kirsten maintains a deep fondness for the players he briefly worked with and has not ruled out a return — but only under more professional, autonomous conditions. 'If I got invited back to Pakistan tomorrow, I would go — but I'd want to go for the players, and under the right circumstances,' he said. 'I love the Pakistan players. They're great guys. More than any other team, they feel the pressure of performance massively. When they lose, it's hectic — and they feel that.' Also Read: Gillespie opens up on painful coaching term with Pak His parting words echo a recurring refrain among international coaches in Pakistan: that structural inefficiencies, blurred responsibilities, and external interference continue to undermine progress on the field. 'I'm too old now to be dealing with other agendas,' Kirsten said. 'I just want to coach a team, work with players. When there's no interference and you have a talented group, you're generally going to have success.' Following Kirsten's departure, Aaqib Javed served briefly as interim white-ball coach before New Zealander Mike Hesson was appointed to take charge..
Time of India
16 hours ago
- Sport
- Time of India
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. Go Beyond The Boundary with our YouTube channel. SUBSCRIBE NOW! 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. Poll Should cricket teams be managed exclusively by cricket professionals? Absolutely Partially, with some outside input Not really No, they should be managed by anyone qualified '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. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Our one of a kind Patented Cold Water Extraction Process Superior Ginseng Undo 'The Sun is on us': Temba Bavuma soaks it in 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.'
