After losing to India and New Zealand in the group stage of the ICC Champions Trophy, Pakistan was eliminated, humiliatingly exiting the tournament it was hosting. Pakistan had experienced the same in the 2024 T20 World Cup and the 2023 ODI World Cup, so it was not a new situation for them. When outcomes do not go their way, the PCB frequently makes strange decisions and has a very strict operating structure.
Before the T20 World Cup, they brought on two excellent coaches, Jason Gillespie for Tests and Gary Kirsten for white ball cricket, but they left too soon. After the T20 World Cup, Kirsten quit because the coaches were not allowed to choose the team. For the Australia tour, Gillespie took over as all-format coach, although he also quit prior to the South Africa series.
Mickey Arthur backs Gillespie
Jason Gillespie recently criticized PCB and referred to Aaqib Javed, the new Pakistan coach, as a "clown." Mickey Arthur, who was Pakistan's coach from 2016 to 2019, agreed with Gillespie, saying that although Pakistan cricket has a lot of promise, they keep shooting in the wrong direction.
"I love this quote to be brutally honest. Jason Gillespie is a wonderful coach, wonderful man. Pakistan cricket just continues to shoot itself in the foot. It is its worst enemy. There are so many good players; they’ve got the resources now; there's so much young talent. They have incredible skill. And yet it's still so chaotic. It's really disappointing to see. I thought when they signed Gillespie and Kirsten, they had gone down exactly the right route, and they had got some really good players. Because ultimately it’s the players that lose out," Arthur told talkSport.
According to Arthur, the main reason Pakistan cricket's continuous downfall is that the team is motivated by agendas.
"They had got some really good coaches who could take them forward. But then that machine that works in Pakistan that just keeps undermining and agendas are driven in the media. It's a jungle out there and I feel desperately sorry for Gary and Jason. There's no doubt in my mind that they were undermined because it’s to the detriment of the players and ultimate to the detriment of Pakistan cricket," added Arthur.