Former Pakistan cricketer Ramiz Raja has slammed the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) over Gary Kirsten’s resignation as the team’s white-ball head coach. Raja believes that hiring an international coach for Pakistan will become increasingly difficult going forward.
Gary Kirsten was named as Pakistan’s white-ball cricket head coach in April 2024 on a two-year contract. He was Pakistan’s coach during the T20 World Cup 2024, where the team failed to go beyond the first round and suffered humiliating defeats to the United States and India.
Kirsten quit less than a week before Pakistan’s white-ball series in Australia. Pakistan will face Australia in a three-match One-Day International series and a three-match Twenty20 International series. During his stint, he did not coach Pakistan in any ODIs.
“It’s not going to be an easy”- Ramiz Raja tears apart PCB on hiring foreign coaches in future
While speaking to the press before the next Australia trip, Ramiz Raja was harshly critical of PCB’s attitude, claiming that Gary Kirsten’s abrupt resignation would make it difficult to hire an international coach.
Ramiz Raja also underlined the clarity with the team’s head coach. He believes Kirsten should have been given more information about his role and asked how he intends to handle this setup.
“When you search for international coaches, with the kind of backlash that you will probably get from Gary Kirsten’s resignation…it’s not going to be an easy, straightforward job for Pakistan to hire international talent.
What you need to do is to make sure that once you involve and engage somebody, you’ve got to give them clarity regarding the role. I don’t know whether that clarity was given to Gary Kirsten or how he wanted to get Pakistan into this one-day phase, what he wanted to achieve. I’m not privy to that,” Ramiz was quoted by ESPNCricinfo.
Ramiz Raja says Gary Kirsten’s resignation ‘not a great news’
Ramiz Raja also stated that it is not great news for a coach to be departing this way just before a series. He believes that Gary Kirsten’s experience could have been useful in Australian conditions.
“It’s not great news (Gary Kirsten’s resignation) because Pakistan needed an experienced hand. From a distance, it doesn’t look great just before a tour,” Raja added.
Gary Kirsten has previous coaching experience in India and South Africa. He was India’s head coach when they won the historic 2011 ODI World Cup. He is also recognized as one of the finest coaches to have ever worked with the Indian cricket squad.
However, the current state of Pakistan cricket is difficult for anyone to deal with. The PCB just announced the new selection panel following Pakistan’s defeat in the first Test against England in Multan.
The new selection panel comprising Aaqib Javed, Aleem Dar, and Azhar Ali removed the captains and the head coaches from the selection panel, and their voting rights were canceled. Jason Gillespie, Pakistan Test coach, and Gary Kirsten, white-ball coach were unhappy with this decision.
Also Read: Aaqib Javed Not In Contention For Pakistan Head Coach Role- Reports