 "Jason Gillespie hasn't been on good terms with Mohsin Naqvi-led Pakistan Cricket Board since quitting as Test coach. Images: AFP")
Former Pakistan cricket team coach Jason Gillespie has launched a fresh attack on Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman Mohsin Naqvi as he revealed that the administrator showed little interest in team-building sessions during the Australian’s tenure with the Men in Green.
Gillespie has been at crossroads with PCB since resigning as Pakistan’s red-ball coach in December 2024, less than a year after his appointment. He has also alleged that PCB is yet to pay him completely for his work with the team.
Gillespie criticises PCB chairman Naqvi
In his latest allegation levelled against PCB, Gillespie said that during his tenure a “connection camp” was organised for the Pakistan men’s cricket team for which he flew in from Australia while the then white-ball coach Gary Kirsten came from South Africa, but Naqvi failed to show up, despite being in Lahore and only 20 minutes away from the venue.
“Gary came up with this great idea of a connection camp. Everyone in Pakistan cricket basically shared their experiences in that meeting. I flew in from Australia, Gary flew in from South Africa, the Chairman Mohsin Naqvi dialed in on Zoom,” Gillespie said on The Howie Games podcast, as quoted by Cricket Pakistan.
“He is based in Lahore, but he did not come, while Gary came in from Africa. We both felt that the Chairman could not even drive 20 minutes to come here - that was a bit unusual,” he added.
The connection camp, reportedly on 23 September 2024, aimed to improve communication and team bonding in the national team. Star players like Babar Azam, Fakhar Zaman, Mohammad Rizwan, Saim Ayub, Salman Ali Agha, Saud Shakeel, Shadab Khan and Shan Masood had also attended the session.
The connection camp, however, clearly didn’t work, as news of infighting in the Pakistan team has kept coming out, while Kirsten and Gillespie resigned from their posts soon after.