Latest news with #non-Test
Hindustan Times
16 hours ago
- Sport
- Hindustan Times
Gary Kirsten unmasks PCB's politics, sheds light on ‘tumultuous' Pakistan head coach tenure: ‘Teams need to be run by…'
Former South African cricketer Gary Kirsten opened up about his time as the Pakistan cricket team's white-ball coach and revealed why he relinquished the position. Kirsten, who led India to their 2011 ODI World Cup title, was appointed as Pakistan's white-ball head coach in 2024 on a two-year deal. However, his tenure got off to a tough start during the T20 World Cup, as Pakistan fell at the group stage following shock defeats to the USA — a non-Test side — and to archrivals India during their US leg. The Proteas veteran was assured a significant role in selection decisions upon his appointment, but that changed after Pakistan's T20 World Cup exit, when he found himself excluded from subsequent selection meetings. He then decided to relinquish the head coach position after just six months. Kirsten revealed that losing his say in team selection made it difficult for him to coach effectively and make a meaningful impact on the group. "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 told Wisden. The 57-year-old remains open to a return to Pakistan's coaching setup, but stressed that he would do so only under the right conditions. "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," Kirsten said. Pakistan cricket has witnessed a big downfall in the last few years, with back-to-back group stage exits in the ICC events - 2023 ODI World Cup, 2024 T20 World Cup and 2025 Champions Trophy. Conflict, internal divisions, and growing interference from officials have become a defining feature of the Pakistan Cricket Board's landscape, fueling controversy and unrest within the game. Kirsten also highlighted the challenge of operating within a PCB structure where cricket isn't necessarily led by those who have played the game — something he believes has a detrimental impact. "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," he added. The 2011 World Cup-winning coach made it clear that he doesn't want to get involved in politics and other agendas outside cricket and just wants to coach a team. He also reserved high praise for Pakistan cricketers and talked about the pressure their players face after a loss. "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. But they're professional cricketers and I'm a professional cricket coach. When we get into that environment, there are generally certain things you do to help a team be the best that they can be, and when there's no interference, you go down the road, and if it's a talented group of guys, you're generally going to have success," he concluded.
The Citizen
23-05-2025
- Sport
- The Citizen
Boks camp ends in Cape Town: ‘We must continue to evolve,' says Rassie
The Boks are first in action late next month with a match against the Barbarians in Cape Town. Springbok coach Rassie Erasmus said Friday it was important that the two-time world champions continued to evolve to stay ahead of their competitors as the year's second alignment camp came to a conclusion in Cape Town on Friday. The national coaching team have now held two alignments camps ahead of the year's international fixtures, which include matches in July against Italy and Georgia. The Boks also again take on Argentina, Australia and New Zealand in the Rugby Championship later in the year before wrapping up the season's fixtures with a four-game tour of Europe in November. The two-day camp in Cape Town featured a series of boardroom sessions and an optional gym session on Friday, while a bunch of overseas-based players joined the boardroom sessions virtually. The players also participated in a series of virtual training sessions to familiarise themselves with the new structures. The season gets underway in a little over a month when the Boks play a non-Test against a Barbarians team in Cape Town. 'Remain a force at top level' 'We are fast approaching the international season, and although most of the players have big matches lined up in their respective competitions before we assemble at our training camp in June, we were pleased with what transpired at the first and second alignment camps, and we believe we are on the right track in terms of our preparations and planning for the season,' said Erasmus. 'The coaches have been working tirelessly to improve our structures to ensure that we can improve on our performances last season, and it was great to see how the players responded to the adaptations and changes we have made to our structures. 'We have said time and time again that we have to continue to evolve to remain a force at the top level of the game, and although we are under no illusions about the challenging season ahead, we are pleased with the progress we have been making off the field, and we are really looking forward to the season ahead.' Newcomers to the squad Erasmus was also pleased to see the enthusiasm among the new players in the group – Vincent Tshituka, Ntokozo Makhaza, and Juarno Augustus, who tuned in virtually from England – and he believed that this experience would benefit them immensely to grow even further in their careers. 'They are all very talented players, and it was evident how proud they were to have this opportunity to rub shoulders with this group of players, some of whom have been with us since 2018, and to learn from them and the coaches,' said the Bok coach. Erasmus will name his squad for the June training camp in the next few weeks.
