Jason Gillespie explains why he resigned as Pakistan red-ball coach less than a year after appointment

Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) suffered a major setback earlier this week with former Australia pacer Jason Gillespie resigning as the red-ball coach of the senior men’s team just eight months into the role. Gillespie, who took 259 wickets for Australia in 71 Test appearances, had been appointed for the job in April this year with former South African opener and India head coach Gary Kirsten picked for the white-ball formats.

Neither Kirsten nor Gillespie, however, saw through the remaining months of 2024 despite signing two-year contracts with the PCB. Kirsten was the first to put in his papers , having done so in October, and Gillespie followed the South African’s footsteps a couple of months later. And in the latter’s case, it came just two weeks before a high-profile Test series in South Africa.

Both Kirsten and Gillespie had major differences with the PCB’s style of functioning, and were also under immense pressure due to Pakistan’s decline across formats this year. Under Kirsten’s watch, Pakistan had failed to advance beyond the group stage of the T20 World Cup after defeats against minnows and co-hosts USA as well as arch-rivals India.

Gillespie’s job was also under the line after the Shan Masood-led Test side suffered a historic whitewash at home against Bangladesh, a team they had never lost to in the format in the past.

‘Was completely and utterly blindsided’: Gillespie

However, it was Gillespie’s removal from the selection committee that played a key role in the Australian quitting the job. The PCB even went to the extent of sidelining him completely while picking Pakistan’s squad for the upcoming two-Test series in South Africa, which gets underway on 26 December at the SuperSport Park in Centurion.

Read | ‘Frustrated’ Jason Gillespie exposes internal dynamics of PCB: ‘It wasn’t what I signed up for’

The Mohsin Naqvi-led PCB also did not consult him while opting to not renew red-ball high-performance coach Tim Nielsen’s contract, which drove Gillespie further towards resignation.

“The straw that broke the camel’s back I suppose was, as a head coach you like to have clear communication with your employer,” Gillespie told ABC Radio on Monday on the sidelines of Day 3 of the third Test between between Australia and India in Brisbane.

“And I was completely and utterly blindsided by a decision to not have high performance coach/senior assistant coach Tim Nielsen (who) was told his services were no longer required.

“I had absolutely zero communication from anyone about that and, after a number of other things that had gone on in the previous few months, that was probably the moment I thought ‘I’m not really sure if they want me to do this job or not’.

Former Pakistan pacer Aaqib Javed, who is also part of the selection committee, has taken over as interim coach across formats after initially filling in for Kirsten in ODIs and T20Is.