Gary Kirsten resigns as Pakistan white-ball coach just six months after signing two-year contract

Gary Kirsten announced his resignation as Pakistan’s white-ball head coach after just six months in the role. According to ESPNCricinfo, Kirsten, who had coached India to the ICC World Cup triumph in 2011, has already conveyed his decision to the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) and an official statement will be put out soon.

Former South Africa opener Kirsten had been appointed as Pakistan’s ODI and T20I coach in April on a two-year contract, but didn’t last even a year in the end.

Both Kirsten and red-ball coach Jason Gillespie were reportedly unhappy with the Mohsin Naqvi-led PCB ever since the board stripped them of selection powers, which currently lies exclusively with the selection committee that too has undergone an overhaul.

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Neither Kirsten nor Gillespie are part of the selection panel that currently comprises former ICC Elite Umpire Aleem Dar, pace icon Aqib Javed among others.

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Kirsten is yet to make a public statement on his resignation, but the report suggests that the delay over announcing Pakistans' squad for the upcoming white-ball tours of Australia and Zimbabwe as well as the appointment of a new white-ball captain was due to animated discussions between the South African and the board.

Pakistan announced their squads on Sunday with Mohammad Rizwan being unveiled as the new white-ball captain and Salman Agha as his deputy. Babar Azam had briefly returned to leadership earlier this year, only to resign from the role for a second time in less than a year and later get dropped from squad for the third Test against England in Rawalpindi.

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Kirsten leaves the Pakistan job without having coached the side in a single ODI, with the team having not played a 50-over game since last year’s World Cup in India. His stint began with a four-match T20I series in England, which the Men in Green ended up losing 0-2 with two matches getting washed out.

That was followed by an even more disappointing T20 World Cup campaign in which the 2009 champions and the 2022 runners-up failed to progress beyond the group stage after defeats against co-hosts USA and arch-rivals India.