New Delhi: Pakistan Cricket Board chairman Mohsin Naqvi on Tuesday gave head coaches Gary Kirsten and Jason Gillespie a free hand to turn the fortunes of the Pakistan team who suffered a dismal run in the recently-concluded T20 World Cup 2024.
Pakistan lost to newbies USA and arch-rivals India in the group stage of the showpiece event to be eliminated from from the marquee event in the US and West Indies. Not only this, Pakistan had suffered a dismal run in ODI World Cup in 2023 in India, where they showcased a below-par performance which led to their early exit from the event.
Naqvi gives free hand
Meanwhile, Naqvi met the white-ball and the red-ball coaches, where Kirsten and Gillespie shared their plans for the national team. According to reports, the PCB chairman has told both the coaches that he has full confidence in them and they will get full backing from the cricket board in whatever they do.
“Kirsten was blunt in laying down his concerns about the white-ball team based on the World Cup,” said a PCB source.
Both the head coaches told the PCB chairman that they wanted to set clear guidelines about the fitness levels required to be considered for Pakistan team selection.
“Naqvi told them they should do whatever is necessary to change the fortunes of the team and no one would ask them to make any compromises on selection or the fitness of players,” the source added.
“The PCB chief said both the coaches had a free hand to take whatever decisions they wanted to improve the performances of the team in red-ball and white-ball formats.” Assistant coach Azhar Mahmood was also present during the meeting.
Kirsten and Gillespie had agreed to become white-ball and red-ball coaches respectively a few months before the World Cup after Naqvi approached them and offered them long-term contracts with the assurance that they would be given proper opportunities to implement their plans.
PCB chairman Naqvi met the white-ball and the red-ball coaches, where Kirsten and Gillespie shared their plans for the national team. Cricket Sports News: Latest Cricket News, Cricket Live Score, Sports Breaking News from Sports Today
