Jason Gillespie Resigns, Aaqib Javed Steps In As Pakistan's Interim Coach
Former Australian cricketer Jason Gillespie has stepped down as the head coach of Pakistan’s Test team, stating frustrations with the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB). He resigned after a month when Gary Kirsten stepped down as the white-ball coach. The resignation of both Gillespie and Kirsten turned out to be a blow for the PCB, especially before the two-match Test series against South Africa, which will kick start on December 26.
The Pakistan Cricket Board confirmed his resignation on Thursday, which added an imbalance within the national cricket team setup. In a recent statement released by PCB, it stated that Aaqib Javed will now be leading Pakistan in both white and red ball cricket.
“The PCB has named former Pakistan paceman Aaqib Javed as interim red-ball coach following the resignation of Jason Gillespie.”
According to the reports, Gillespie’s dissatisfaction with the PCB started when the board declined to extend Tim Nielsen’s tenure as high-performance red ball coach. This decision was made without consulting Gillespie, which made him angry and forced him to step away from the role. The decision that led him to resign from his role was the trust and lack of communication.
“I think there are always frustrations from time to time. It wasn’t what I signed up for, I’ll be completely honest.”
The recent statement released by PCB focused on Javed’s appointment, which aims at ensuring stability during the South Africa tour. It stated that,
“Aaqib Javed’s first assignment as red-ball head coach will be the two-match Test series against South Africa during the ongoing all-format tour.”
The Pakistan cricket team is currently in South Africa for a T20I and ODI series ahead of the Tests. Now, Aaqib Javed will be leading the charge of the Pakistan team in both red-ball and white-ball.