Bilal Ahmed 
(C)[Pakistan Cricket,gary kirsten steps down as pakistans white ball coach over selection controversy
Gary Kirsten quit the white ball head coach role in June 2019 after he was appointed few months ago. The PCB has officially announced on Monday that Test head coach Jason Gillespie will steer the side for the upcoming limited-overs tour of Australia in the coming month. Kirsten’s exit has been linked to a public spat with the PCB over control of selection and management of the team.
Troubled Tenure and World Cup Disappointment
The former South African opener had a very rude awakening at the 2024 World Cup where Pakistan was unable to get out of the group stages after they lost two of their matches from winning positions. England also shared a bilateral series defeat with Pakistan during his tenure as the captain. The team never played a single ODI under Kirsten’s leadership though he was highly successful as the coach of Indian team that clinched the 2011 World Cup title.
During Kirsten’s time on the team, the PCB changed the men’s national selection committee often, which was said to have restricted him. This was when the board took power away from Kirsten on who to select implying that the power rested in a selection committee that did not include him.
New Leadership and Future Challenges
Recently, the cricket board has appointed Mohammad Rizwan as a T20I and Agha Salman as a white-ball deputy in the absence of the head coach, Kirsten. According to the sources, Kirsten insisted on having his say on who should be part of a team and on the appointments of leaders that would report to him this sparked a heated discussion with the board.
While there are less than four months to go until the start of the Champions Trophy – Pakistan’s first ICC tournament in over two decades – the PCB has the unenviable task of finding a suitable replacement. The 38-year-old, who led Pakistan to a 2-1 Test series triumph against England, has been appointed as head coach for the team’s tours of Australia and Zimbabwe.
