Initially, Gillespie was announced as the head coach of Pakistan’s red-ball side, but he was later made the interim coach of the white-ball team after Gary Kirsten quit his job.
The shuffle in the coaching department at Pakistan Cricket continues as the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has decided to remove Jason Gillespie from the head coach position following the end of the ongoing T20I series against Australia Down Under. The announcement might come as soon as Monday (November 18).
Initially, Gillespie was announced as the head coach of Pakistan’s red-ball side, but he was later made the interim coach of the white-ball team after Gary Kirsten quit his job. However, the PCB wanted him to take full-time charge of the white-ball team without any contract change, which meant no increase in pay.
However, Gillespie turned down that offer, so the PCB decided not to continue with him in the red-ball cricket either. According to ESPNcricinfo, the decision to terminate Gillespie’s contract is not spending enough time in Pakistan.
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However, Gillespie feels he fully spent the time mentioned in the contract, overseeing Shaheens tour of Darwin without taking extra pay. Under him, Pakistan made a miraculous comeback in the England series after losing the first game at home by winning the next two matches before clinching the ODI series 2-1 in Australia but lost the Bangladesh Test series 2-0.
Aaqib Javed, appointed convenor of the Pakistan men’s cricket team selection committee recently, will take over the head coach position across formats. He wasn’t PCB’s first-choice option for this role as PCB wanted Gillespie to continue till the Champions Trophy next year.
PCB wanted to re-appoint Azhar Mahmood or Saqlain Mushtaq, Pakistan’s coach from 2021-22. However, both didn’t have enough support from the PCB’s advisory circle, so Aaqib was finalised after discussions.
Aaqib was previously the head coach and director of cricket operations of Lahore Qalandars in the Pakistan Super League, where he led them to consecutive titles. After being included in Pakistan’s selection committee, Aaqib was supposedly responsible for spin-friendly tracks against England.
He was also Sri Lanka’s bowling coach earlier this year. His stint as head coach will begin with the ODI series against Zimbabwe later in the month.
However, PCB has refuted the claims about Jason Gillespie being replaced. They added that he will continue for the red-ball series against South Africa.
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