New Delhi: Former South African cricketer Gary Kirsten has opened up about his time as the coach of the Pakistan cricket team’s white-ball team. He revealed why he stepped down from the position.
Kirsten led India to their 2011 ODI World Cup victory at home and was appointed as Pakistan’s white-ball head coach in 2024 on a two-year contract. But his tenure started with a disastrous campaign at the 2024 T20 World Cup, where Pakistan got eliminated from the tournament in the group stage following shocking defeats against the USA and arch rivals India.
He was assured a crucial role in selection decisions upon his appointment, but things changed after the team’s T20 World Cup exit. Kirsten was excluded from selection meetings, and as a result of this, he decided to step down from the head coach position after just six months. Kirsten said that it was a tumultuous few months as he realised quite quickly that he wasn’t going to have much of an influence.
“Once I was taken off selection and asked to take a team and not be able to shape the team, it became very difficult as a coach then to have any sort of positive influence on the group,” Kirsten said on the Wisden Cricket Patreon Podcast.
He still remains open to a return to Pakistan cricket as coach, but only under the right circumstances. Pakistan cricket has been struggling in the last few years, with back-to-back group stage exits in the ICC events. They have failed to qualify for the knockout stages in the 2023 ODI World Cup, the 2024 T20 World Cup and the 2025 Champions Trophy.
‘Cricket teams need to be run by cricket people’: Gary Kirsten
The South African further added that cricket teams need to be run by cricket people, but when that’s not happening, there’s a lot of outside noise. Kirsten made it clear that he doesn’t want to get involved in the politics and other agendas and just wants to coach a team. He also praised the Pakistan cricketers and said that they face a lot of pressure after a loss.
Gary Kirsten was appointed as the head coach of Pakistan’s white-ball team in April 2024 but resigned just six months into the job. Cricket Sports News: Latest Cricket News, Cricket Live Score, Sports Breaking News from Sports Today
