New Delhi: Former South African cricketer Gary Kirsten is reportedly said to have quit the role of Pakistan men cricket team’s head coach in the white-ball formats and won’t be traveling for their upcoming tour of Australia. He was appointed in the role in May this year on a two-year tenure.
According to a report by Cricbuzz, Kirsten has differences of opinion with the players of the team. The situation exacerbates after the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) refused to entertain their coach’s request to appoint New Zealand’s David Reid as a High Performance coach. Reid was appointed Pakistan team’s mental and skill conditioning coach for the 2024 T20 World Cup this year.
However, the PCB named a few alternatives to Reid for the High Performance coach role, which weren’t acceptable for Gary. The report suggested that the 56-year-old coach won’t travel to neither of Pakistan’s limited overs tours to Australia (November 4-18) and Zimbabwe (November 24-December 5).
Although the official confirmation over Kirsten’s exit hasn’t been confirmed neither from the coach or from the PCB, there has been a speculation in the Pakistan media that the 2011 World Cup-winning coach with India is highly unlikely to continue with Pakistan.
This will be a major setback for the team four months before Pakistan are set to host the ICC Champions Trophy 2025. The PCB might have to look for a new coach if the development is confirmed.
Mohammad Rizwan named Pakistan’s new white-ball captain
Pakistan wicketkeeper-batter Mohammad Rizwan on Sunday was appointed as Pakistan’s new skipper across the two white-ball formats. His first assignment will be to lead the national team in their upcoming tour of Australia, where they play three One-Day Internationals and as many T20I matches.
Rizwan will also lead in the ODIs against Zimbabwe, but won’t be part of the three-match T20Is. All-rounder Salman Ali Agha, who was named Rizwan’s deputy, will step up to lead the team in the T20Is in the African nation.
Rizwan will take over the captaincy responsibility from Babar Azam after the latter stepped down from the role earlier this month.
