3 Captains, 2 coaches without playing an ODI: Pakistan Cricket never ceases to shock fraternity
Former South Africa cricketer Gary Kirsten has resigned as Pakistan's white-ball head coach within six months after appointment. Interestingly, he couldn't coach Pakistan in a single ODI and resigned soon after their squad for Australia tour was announced.
Pakistan Cricket never ceases to amaze the cricketing world. Their white-ball head coach Gary Kirsten resigned from the position within 24 hours after the squads were announced for Australia and Zimbabwe earlier today and the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) accepted it as well. Jason Gillespie, the red-ball head coach, will fill up in the vacant role now with less than a week to go for the Australia tour.
Coming back to Kirsten, he was appointed at the helm in May earlier this year after winning the race against the likes of Shane Watson and Darren Sammy. Pakistan took the best part of three months to finalise the candidate with their chairman Mohsin Naqvi even saying that it was a "remarkable opportunity for our players to glean insights from these seasoned professionals."
Unfortunately for Kirsten, in his first major tournament, the T20 World Cup, Pakistan lost to the USA and India in the group stage. They got knocked out of the mega event before the semis. Babar Azam stepped down for the second time within a year as captain. But Kirsten was very early in his role and with an ODI Champions Trophy coming up at home, Pakistan were looking forward to defending the trophy under him next year.
However, Kirsten seems to have felt sidelined by the rise of the current selection committee that has all the powers of picking the squad. For the unversed, PCB removed the coach and captain from the selection committee following the loss to England in the first Test earlier this month. Aaqib Javed, Aleem Dar, Azhar Ali, Asad Shafiq and Hassan Cheema formed the newly formed selection panel with all the powers given to them.
According to a report in ESPNCricinfo, Kirsten wasn't pleased with the development and is understood to have been involved in animated discussions with the board. He was keen to have his input considered in the selection but his demands were rejected. As it stands, he had signed a two-year contract as Pakistan's head coach but has left the position without coaching the team in the 50-over format.
Pakistan last played an ODI during the World Cup in India in 2023 and will be directly playing the format for the first time on November 4 on the Australia tour. During this period, Babar Azam stepped down from the captaincy role twice, Shaheen Afridi was appointed and axed as white-ball captain while Mohammad Rizwan was appointed as the captain in T20Is and ODIs.
As hilarious as it looks, this is what Pakistan Cricket offers when nothing is expected of them!
Timeline since Pakistan Cricket Team last played an ODI
November 2023: Babar Azam steps down as captain
November 2023: Shaheen Afridi appointed captain
March 2024: Shaheen Afridi steps down as captain
April 2024: Babar Azam appointed captain again before the T20 World Cup.
May 2024: Gary Kirsten appointed as white-ball head coach.
September 2024: Babar Azam resigns as captain.
October 2024: Mohammad Rizwan appointed as captain.
October 2024: Gary Kirsten resigns as white-ball head coach
October 2024: Jason Gillespie appointed white-ball head coach for Australia tour