“The head coach’s role is to coach the team” - PCB chairman hits back at Jason Gillespie
Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman Mohsin Naqvi has responded to the claims made by former red-ball head coach Jason Gillespie after the latter's sudden resignation ahead of the Test series against South Africa. The former Australia bowler had openly criticized PCB's functioning during his seven-month tenure.
Gillespie's turbulent reign witnessed a home whitewash (2-0 in Tests) to Bangladesh and a comeback series win (2-1) over England. Midway through his stint, he was removed from the selection panel and had no say in the playing XI too. Before resigning in December, he had remarked that his role was reduced to a 'match day strategist,' and the role was not what he had signed up for.
Despite being stripped of the selection calls, Gillespie was willing to continue in the reduced role. However, he decided to resign when the PCB opted not to extend assistant coach Tim Nielsen's contract, without keeping Gillespie in the loop.
"The straw that broke the camel's back, I suppose, was, as a head coach, you like to have clear communication with your employer. I was completely and utterly blindsided by a decision to not have a high-performance coach," Gillespie told ABC Sport in an interview after his resignation.
"You want to be able to have clear communication with all stakeholders, with selectors, for instance, knowing what the team is as head coach well before the game, or before at least the day before the game," he added.
In response to Gillespie's claims of being left out of selection matters, PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi recently remarked that the head coach was hired for coaching and should have stuck to the role.
"The head coach's role is to coach the team, while the selection committee is supposed to select players," Naqvi told Geo News (via NDTV).
Gillespie was replaced as head coach by Aaqib Javed on an interim basis. The former Pakistan pacer also had to take on the white-ball coaching role after Gary Kirsten resigned in October 2024.
Jason Gillespie was roped in a two-year deal in April 2024
The PCB had opted for split coaching when they hired Jason Gillespie and Gary Kirsten in April 2024 to handle the red-ball and white-ball formats, respectively. However, the vision did not pan out well. Gillespie resigned with almost a year and a half left on his contract.
Pakistan's two-match Test series against South Africa will begin on Thursday, December 26.