In his first interview after resigning as Pakistan’s Test coach, Jason Gillespie has said that the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) does not want him as a coach. He cited a lack of communication with the board and the firing of high performance coach Tim Nielsen as reasons for his resignation.
“The straw that broke the camel’s back, I think, as a head coach, you want to have a clear conversation with your employer.
“Tim Nielsen was told that his services were no longer needed and I had absolutely zero communication from anybody about it, and I just thought after some other things that had gone on in the last few months, maybe that was the moment where I thought, ‘Well, I Not really sure if they actually want to do it or not.’
What irked Gillespie the most was that both he and Tim Nielsen had received positive feedback from the PCB and that they were moving in the right direction. He got along well with Test captain Shaun Masood and they developed a strong coach-player relationship.
“All the feedback I got or the feedback the PCB got was how effective he was, you know, Tim was in his role and the players were getting a lot out of him.”
The former Australian bowler became Pakistan’s Test coach in April and guided the team to a 2-1 win over England in October after missing the first match by an innings and 47 runs. But after the loss, Gillespie mentioned that he was part of the text group that there would be a new selection panel, of which the coach was not a part.
He felt his role as a coach was diminishing, as he would receive communications about the team’s players the day before a game.
“You want to be able to communicate clearly with all the stakeholders, with the selectors, for example, before the game, or at least the day before the game to know what the team is like as the head coach.”
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