Jason Gillespie was the head coach of Pakistan's Test team from April 2024 to December 2024.
Former Pakistan head coach Jason Gillespie has slammed interim head coach Aaqib Javed and called him a “clown” after the latter blamed constant management changes for the team’s failure in recent tournaments. Pakistan were knocked out of the ongoing 2025 ICC Champions Trophy after finishing Group A in fourth place.
‘This is hilarious’: Gillespie
The Mohammad Rizwan-led side suffered losses to New Zealand and India, whereas their final group game against Bangladesh was washed out due to rain in Rawalpindi.
“This is hilarious. Aaqib was clearly undermining Gary and I behind the scenes campaigning to be the coach in all formats. He is a clown,” Gillespie wrote on his Instagram Threads handle.
“We have changed nearly 16 coaches and 26 selectors in the last two years or so. You put that formula on any team in the world, I think they will also be in the same situation. Until you get consistency right from the top down to the bottom, from the chairman down, then your team will not progress,” Aaqib Javed had said during a press conference on Tuesday.
Gillespie had been appointed the head coach of Pakistan’s Test team in April 2024 but resigned in December following a poor string of results. This included Pakistan’s failure to qualify for the World Test Championship (WTC) final. Gary Kirsten, on the other hand, had been appointed Pakistan’s white-ball coach and oversaw the 2024 T20 World Cup, where Pakistan crashed out of the group stage.
He too resigned from the post in October 2024. Gillespie eventually took over as the interim head coach of the white-ball side as well, but quit in December just before a two-match Test series against South Africa. Both of them resigned from their respective posts amid tense relations with the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB).
Pakistan make major changes to T20I squad vs New Zealand
Pakistan made quite a few big calls as the announced the squad for the upcoming away T20I series against New Zealand. Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan were excluded from the squad, which will be led by all-rounder Agha Salman. As far as their ODI squad against the Black Caps are concerned, Shaheen Afridi is a notable absentee whereas injured batter Saim Ayub remains unfit.
