"Jason Gillespie is a bit like Gambhir"- Ricky Ponting on Pakistan's red-ball coach

Former Australian captain Ricky Ponting believes compatriot and former teammate Jason Gillespie will do a good job as Pakistan's red-ball coach. Ponting and Gillespie have played a lot of cricket for Australia together in the past and share a great camaraderie.

Ponting highlighted Gillespie's impressive record as a coach and likened it to India's head coach Gautam Gambhir, who also has tasted success in his brief coaching career so far. Gambhir won the IPL 2024 title in his only season as the mentor of the Kolkata Knight Riders.

Speaking on The ICC Review, here's what Ricky Ponting had to say about Jason Gillespie:

"Jason Gillespie is a bit like Gambhir. Pretty much everywhere he has been, his coaching record has been very very good. He will have some challenges I got no doubt about it. But he is a deep thinker and as I said, a quiet person that goes about it in his own way."

View this post on Instagram

Instagram Post

Ponting has no doubt that Gillespie will find a way to get the best out of the Pakistan players.

Not surprised with the number of changes in Pakistan cricket: Ricky Ponting

Ricky Ponting further claimed that he wasn't surprised with the wholesale changes in the Pakistan setup following their disappointing T20 World Cup campaign. Pakistan couldn't even get out of their group as losses against India and the USA saw them crash out before the Super Eights phase.

Ponting stated (as per the aforementioned source):

"We've got a few WhatsApp groups over the years, all of us old guys that have played together. So everyone's congratulated him (Gillespie) and wished him luck in that role. And look, to be honest, I am not surprised at all by the amount of changes in that group. I know it is a different format but they had a very disappointing T20 World Cup. If you are not willing to make some changes, you're expecting similar results to come your way."

Gillespie's first assignment as Pakistan's Test coach is a two-match Test series against Bangladesh beginning on August 21 at Rawalpindi.