New Delhi: Pakistan have told their Test team head coach Jason Gillespie and skipper Shan Masood that they won’t have any say in selection matters.
This decision was informed to them by a Pakistan Cricket Board official after Pakistan lost the first Test against England by an innings and 47 runs in Multan.
It is a signficant clamp down on Gillespie, who was promised a free-hand when he took charge. But after their maiden Test series loss to Bangladesh followed by the defeat in the first match against England, PCB took a tough stance.
“The PCB came in after that (first) Test match. It was decided that a new selection panel would come in, and they would be making decisions. I wasn’t involved in the decision-making,” former Australia pacer Gillispie said in a press conference on Wednesday.
“I’m now just the coach for match day strategy. So, I keep out of things now and just focus on the players and getting them ready for cricket.”
Sweeping changes
Masood and Gillespie are expected to hold conversations with PCB officials after the third Test against England that begins in Rawalpindi from Thursday.
“They (Gillespie and Masood) apparently have decided to keep quiet for now but will most probably have a discussion about the matter with the PCB Chairman after the series,” a PCB source told PTI.
“Gillespie and white ball head coach, Gary Kirsten were brought in with the assurance that they would have complete say in every matter related to the team including selection of squads and playing eleven. But that has now changed at least for Gillespie,” the source added.
Pakistan have made several changes to their structure after first round exits from the ODI and T20 World Cups.
Revamping the selection committee is one of those steps with former umpire Aleem Dar and former players Aaqib Javed, Asad Shafiq, Azhar Ali, and Hassan Cheema given responsibility to select squads for the upcoming white-ball series against Australia and Zimbabwe.
“It’s not for me to talk about now. I am not a selector. I am a match day strategist as head coach, and I’m all about the players. My focus is on them,” Gillespie said.
“I will let the selectors do their job, and we will just go out there and play the best cricket we can possibly play.”
