Jason Gillespie replaces Gary Kirsten as Pakistan's white-ball head coach
The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has appointed Jason Gillespie as the head coach for the men's team in white-ball formats. The decision comes just ahead of their forthcoming tour of Australia. Gillespie's new role is an expansion of his current position as Pakistan's red-ball head coach, and will now include the supervision of the One-Day International (ODI) and T20 International (T20I) series against Australia.
Gillespie's appointment follows Kirsten's resignation
Gillespie's appointment comes after Gary Kirsten's resignation, which was officially accepted by the PCB on October 28. Notably, Kirsten has resigned just months after he took up the role in May this year. The upcoming tour of Australia will begin on November 4. This series is especially important as both teams are hoping to gain momentum ahead of the ICC T20 World Cup in 2026.
Mohammad Rizwan named full-time captain
Along with Gillespie's appointment, the PCB also named Mohammad Rizwan as the new full-time captain for Pakistan's white-ball squads. The announcement was made on Sunday during the team selections for the Australian and Zimbabwe tours. The leadership and coaching staff changes come at a time when reported dissatisfaction among coaches due to the growing influence of Pakistan's selection committee.
PCB's new selection panel excludes coaches, captain
After Pakistan lost the first Test against England, the PCB announced a new selection panel. This is their third such change in as many months. The new panel consists of Aaqib Javed, Aleem Dar, Azhar Ali, Asad Shafiq and Hassan Cheema. Notably, both the coaches and captain have been kept out of this selection process.
Kirsten's tenure marked by challenges, series losses
Kirsten's time as head coach, which started in mid-May following his time with the Gujarat Titans in the Indian Premier League (IPL), was fraught with challenges. Pakistan lost a series against England under his leadership and also faltered in the recently concluded T20 World Cup. Disappointing defeats to the United States and India saw them knocked out of the knockout stages.
