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Hours after Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) announced the squad for T20I and ODI series against Australia and Zimbabwe, head coach Gary Kirsten resigned from his post. Reportedly, Kirsten has had disagreements with the board and the players. Reacting to Kirsten calling it quits within six months, former Pakistan men’s cricket team head coach Mickey Arthur raised a few questions. Arthur stressed on the importance of head coach having a say in the selection of the side.
“You can't not have input from the coach in terms of selection,he looks the players in the eye everyday and for his role to be taken seriously needs to communicate clearly on roles with the players and give feedback!” Arthur posted on his X account.
When Mohammad Rizwan was appointed as the new white-ball head coach, Kirsten was not present in the press conference. Apparently, he did not have a say in the selection of team since the changes in the selection committee including former pacer Aaqib Javed. Even red-ball coach Jason Gillespie did not have a say in it when changes were made to the squad midway through the series against England which Pakistan won 2-1 after making spin-friendly tracks.
The ODI series will begin on November 4 at Melbourne Cricket Ground. The T20I series will begin on November 14 at The Gabba, Brisbane. Pakistan have not won a T20I on Australian soil so far.
ALSO READ: Big blow to Pakistan ahead of Australia tour as Gary Kirsten set to quit as white-ball coach: Report
In Kirsten’s absence, Pakistan have appointed Gillespie as interim head coach. Javed was considered another candidate for the spot, especially after the change in Pakistan’s fortunes in Test cricket this month.
"The Pakistan Cricket Board today announced Jason Gillespie will coach the Pakistan men’s cricket team on next month’s white-ball tour of Australia after Gary Kirsten submitted his resignation, which was accepted," PCB said in a statement on October 28.
Pakistan’s squads for Australia tour –
Pakistan ODI squad: Mohammad Rizwan (c & wk), Aamer Jamal, Abdullah Shafique, Agha Salman, Arafat Minhas, Babar Azam, Faisal Akram, Haris Rauf, Haseebullah Khan, Irfan Khan, Kamran Ghulam, Mohammad Hasnain, Naseem Shah, Saim Ayub, Shaheen Shah Afridi
Pakistan T20I squad: Mohammad Rizwan (c), Abbas Afridi, Agha Salman, Arafat Minhas, Babar Azam, Haris Rauf, Haseebullah Khan, Irfan Khan, Jahandad Khan, Naseem Shah, Omair Yousuf, Sahibzada Farhan, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Sufiyan Muqeem, Usman Khan.
