It has been more than a year since Jason Gillespie and Gary Kirsten left their roles in Pakistan’s cricket coaching setup, but the controversy surrounding their departure continues to resurface. The chapter seemed to be closed for good, but fresh exchanges between the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chief selector Aaqib Javed and its former coaching staff have put further spotlight on the matter. The latest round of criticism began when Aaqib shared his perspective on a podcast.
Javed claimed that Gillespie and Kirsten made the selection process difficult by refusing to consider others’ opinions within the team management, creating challenges for the selectors. However, Gillespie has now responded to these claims, rejecting the accusations, offering his own version of events.
In a particularly blunt moment, Gillespie referred to Javed as a “muppet,” drawing laughter from co-host and former Australian teammate Damien Fleming and another former Australian pacer, Glenn McGrath.
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Gillespie also revealed that he was not a fan of Aaqib deciding to make turning tracks for the series against England, and using industrial fans to dry the pitch up at Rawalpindi. For the unversed, this tactic was employed after Pakistan lost the series opener, where England hammered more than 600 runs.
“I asked him, ‘What was your plan after the first Test? We lost the first Test against England. No, you didn’t ask Aaqib. You waited in, and you said, ‘This is what we’re doing.’ We’re changing the team. We are playing on the same surface that we just played a five-day Test on in four days’ time. So it was going to be a day 10 or 11 surface. And I asked them, ‘Why are we doing that?’ We’ve got other surfaces prepared because you’ve got to play on the best surface available,” Gillespie said on the ‘Fast Bowling Cartel’ podcast.
“We were instructed before Aaqib and the new selectors came in that you could only pick players who passed the fitness testing criteria. What I had an issue with in the pitch was the suggestion to sprinkle it with sand as well. Not only did we have a 10 or 11-day pitch, but we also just sprinkled it with sand. So give me a spell, Aaqib, you muppet,” Gillespie added.
The former Australian speedster also sympathised with Kirsten, saying the former South Africa batter was relieved of his duties despite doing nothing wrong. “Gary Kirsten was relieved of his duties after a Test match loss that we had. He last coached the white ball team three months ago, so he got sacked for doing nothing for three months,” revealed Gillespie.
What did Javed say?
Speaking on the Public Sports and Public News YouTube channel, Javed had claimed that Kirsten and Gillespie used to overrule other selectors, making it difficult to work with them.
“Frankly speaking, they used to overrule every selector. They weren’t willing to listen to anyone,” he said.
He then recounted a meeting in Multan, alleging that the coaching staff had no strategy whatsoever for a Test against England. “I went to Multan and spoke with Jason and Shan. I asked them, What was your plan after the first Test against England? They had no plan. This isn’t going to work,” Javed said.
In the last two years, Pakistan have changed about 16 coaches and 26 selectors, and the game of musical chairs is continuing. The frequent changes have led to the national team struggling across formats. The Green Shirts have failed to make the semi-finals of the last four ICC events.