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Jason Gillespie finally revealed the reason behind his resignation as Pakistan's Test coach. Pakistan's internal board politics make it a difficult team to coach. Although Gillespie and Gary Kirsten bravely accepted the position, they were unable to stay for even a year. Gillespie abandoned the team shortly after Kirsten resigned as white-ball coach without leading the squad in an ODI. The coaches became match-day strategists after being kicked off the selection panel. Gillespie stayed, but Kirsten left since she did not like the change. He led the side to victory in the ODI series after being asked to coach them on a white-ball tour to Australia.
Gillespie on his decision to quit as Pakistan coach
However, the former Australia pacer lost patience and resigned after the board fired assistant coach Tim Neilsen without even speaking to him. Aqib Javed was then appointed by the PCB as the interim head coach for all formats. Gillespie gave two main reasons for his resignation as Pakistan coach. First, he was removed from the selection process and second Tim Neilsen was fired without any communication.
"The straw that broke the camel’s back… as a head coach you like to have clear communication with your employer and I was completely and utterly blindsided by a decision to no longer have a high-performance coach. My senior assistant coach Tim Nielsen was told his services were no longer required and I had zero communication from anyone about that and I just thought after a number of other things that had gone on in the previous few months, that was the moment I thought well I’m not really sure they actually want me to do this job." Gillespie said on ABC Grandstand.
"When things started to change… and I felt my opportunity to be able help was severely diminished by a reduced role, in essence I was basically hitting catches and that was about it on the morning of a game. You want to be able to have clear communication with all stakeholders, including selectors and knowing what the team is as head coach at least a day before the game so you can help plan and prepare the players. That just made things a lot more difficult to be able to do my job effectively and then the board decided to not allow Tim to travel to South Africa, I’ve heard that was on the recommendation of someone which in essence made my job untenable," he added.
The Test series against Bangladesh, in which the hosts lost 2-0, was Gillespie's first task as Pakistan's coach. After losing to England in the opening Test match, the Shan Masood-led team recovered to win the next two matches and the series.
