Pakistan’s Salman Ali Agha (right) receives the trophy from Pakistan Cricket Board Chairman and Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi (AP Photo) Former Pakistan head coach Gary Kirsten has opened up about his short and turbulent tenure with the national side, revealing that excessive interference by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) played a major role in his early exit.Appointed in April 2024 on a two-year contract, Kirsten stepped down from his role as head coach of Pakistan’s ODI and T20I teams in just six months. His resignation came suddenly, barely a week before Pakistan were scheduled to tour Australia for an ODI series.
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Jay Shah calls 2019 to 2026 as the golden era of Indian cricket Immediately after his departure, the PCB handed additional duties to Test coach Jason Gillespie, who was asked to oversee the white-ball portion of Australia’s tour. However, Gillespie also parted ways with the set-up a few months later, adding to the instability in the coaching structure.Reflecting on his experience, Kirsten pointed to the constant external involvement in team matters as the most challenging aspect of the job.“The thing that surprised me more than anything else was the level of interference. I don’t think I’ve ever seen it at that level. Was it surprising? I don’t know, but it was significant,” Kirsten told talkSPORT Cricket.He explained that in such an environment it is extremely difficult for a coach to implement plans or build a stable working relationship with players.“It’s quite difficult for a coach to come in and articulate a way you can work with players when there’s just that constant noise from the outside. It was difficult, just that constant noise from the outside and a lot of offense around poor performance and stuff like that,” he added.
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Kirsten also highlighted how coaches often become easy targets when results don’t go the team’s way, describing it as a counterproductive approach.“As a coach, you’re the lowest hanging fruit when the team isn’t doing well, so let’s get rid of the coach or reduce him because that’s the easiest thing to do when teams are performing, and that’s counterproductive in my view,” Kirsten said.
