Kirsten steps down as Pakistan's white-ball coach

Gary Kirsten has unexpectedly stepped down as the head coach of Pakistan's ODI and T20I teams, leaving his position with immediate effect. Despite being appointed by the PCB on a two-year contract just six months ago in April 2024, Kirsten has decided to resign just a week before Pakistan's upcoming ODI series in Australia.

ESPNcricinfo has learnt a public statement to this effect will be put out imminently.

There had been a rift developing between Pakistan's newly-appointed coaches, Kirsten and Jason Gillespie, and the PCB since the board decided to strip them off selection powers, with that authority exclusively the preserve of a selection committee they would no longer be a part of. Gillespie had made little effort to conceal his surprise at the events in the build-up to the third Test in Rawalpindi against England, saying he was now just a "match-day analyst", and that "it wasn't what I signed up for."

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Kirsten did not make a public statement, but was understood to be disappointed with the recent developments. ESPNcricinfo has learnt part of the delay in announcing a squad and new limited-overs captain was down to animated discussions within the board, with Kirsten keen to have his input taken into consideration. Ultimately, though, when the new captain Mohammad Rizwan was announced at a press conference in Lahore, board chairman Mohsin Naqvi was flanked only by Aaqib Javed, a member of the new selection committee, and the new captain and vice-captain Salman Agha. Kirsten was not even in the country at the time.

The coaches have felt sidelined by the rise in influence of the current selection committee. After Pakistan lost the first Test against England, a new selection panel - a third in three months - was announced. Aaqib, Aleem Dar, Azhar Ali, Asad Shafiq and Hassan Cheema were on it, while the coaches and captain were taken off. Dar was considered the original architect of the idea behind preparing a recycled surface for the second Test in Multan - which Pakistan went on to win - while Aaqib became the public face of the overhaul. It even led new white-ball captain Rizwan at one point to remark during the Test that Pakistan were now playing "Aaqib-ball".

The departure of Kirsten, and the speed with which things have unravelled, is little short of stunning, even for Pakistan cricket. It means, for one, that Kirsten departs from his role without having coached Pakistan in a single ODI, the format where he achieved his greatest coaching success. Pakistan spent the best part of three months in the hunt for what Naqvi called "the best in class" coaches for the team, with several high-profile candidates, including Shane Watson and Daren Sammy, sounded out. Ultimately, they settled on Kirsten, who led India to a first ODI World Cup title in 28 years, for the white-ball format, with Naqvi saying it was a "remarkable opportunity for our players to glean insights from these seasoned professionals".

Kirsten's first major tournament was the T20 World Cup in the USA, an inauspicious beginning to his coaching stint. Defeats against USA and India led to Pakistan's earliest elimination from a T20 World Cup, with the side knocked out in the first round after three games. Babar Azam would quit as white-ball captain for the second time a few months later. But it was believed then that Kirsten needed time to get his feet under the table and develop a side, particularly with a home ICC Champions Trophy in early 2025, the first ICC event Pakistan host in nearly three decades.

It is not yet clear who will replace Kirsten for the upcoming tours of Australia and Zimbabwe. ESPNcricinfo has learnt one option the PCB is considering is asking Gillespie to take over the role in the interim, though Aaqib is believed to have his eyes on the position in the longer term. Pakistan's tour of Australia - comprising three ODIs and as many T20Is - begins in six days, with the first ODI in Melbourne on November 4.