Former South African cricketer and 2011 World Cup-winning coach Gary Kirsten has shed light on the key factors contributing to his short tenure with the Pakistan national team. Appointed as the white-ball coach in April 2024, Kirsten resigned after only six months, citing a lack of control over crucial decisions as the primary reason for his departure.
Kirsten acknowledged that he quickly realized he wouldn’t be able to have the desired impact. Despite initial optimism, it became evident that his role wouldn’t provide the necessary autonomy or support to effect significant changes in Pakistan’s white-ball structure.
His resignation followed that of Jason Gillespie, the then Pakistan Test team head coach. Gillespie, who had overseen Pakistan’s historic ODI series victory in Australia, also left due to similar frustrations within the system.
Kirsten, who also served as the batting coach for the Gujarat Titans in the Indian Premier League (IPL), has not ruled out a return to Pakistan cricket. He expressed his willingness to take on a coaching role again if the conditions allowed him to perform his duties effectively and without undue interference.
Despite his short stint, Kirsten’s reputation as a highly respected figure in coaching remains intact. His experience highlights the ongoing issues within the management and organization of the Pakistan team.
“It was a tumultuous few months. I realised quite quickly I 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 stated on the Wisden Podcast.
“If I got invited back to Pakistan tomorrow, I would go, but I would want to go for the players, and I would want to go under the right circumstances. Cricket teams need to be run by cricket people. When that’s not happening and when there’s a lot of noise from the outside that’s very influential noise, it’s very difficult for leaders within the team to walk a journey that you feel like you need to walk in order to take this team to where it needs to go.”
“I’m too old now to be dealing with other agendas; I just want to coach a cricket team and work with the players – I love the Pakistan players; they’re great guys. I had a very short period of time with them, and I feel for them. More than any other team in the world, they feel the pressure of performance massively; when they lose, it’s hectic for them, and they feel that.”
“But they’re professional cricketers, and I’m a professional cricket coach. When we get into that environment, there are generally certain things you do to help a team be the best that they can be, and when there’s no interference, you go down the road, and if it’s a talented group of guys, you’re generally going to have success,” he concluded.
