Pakistan cricket is going throuhg a turmoil following the national team’s early exit from the Champions Trophy. Pakistan, the hosts of the tournament, failed to reach the semi-finals, suffering defeats to New Zealand and India while their match against Bangladesh was washed out. Recently, former Pakistan head coach Jason Gillespie attacked his successor Aaqib Javed, calling him a “clown”. Gillespie, who quit as Pakistan head coach three months back, also accused Javed for running a campaign behind the scenes to take the coaching role.
“This is hilarious. Aaqib was clearly undermining Gary and I behind the scenes campaigning to be the coach in all formats. He is a clown,” Gillespie shared on Instagram.
Reacting to Gillespie’s remarks, former Pakistan head coach Mickey Arthur sided with the ex-Australia pacer. Arthur said that Pakistan cricket has so much potential but they continue to push the self destruct button.
“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,” said Arthur.
Arthur, who served as Pakistan head coach across two different stints, said that the country’s is driven by agendas. He also accused the PCB of mistreating their coaches.
“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,” he added.
Aaqib served as the chief selector when Gillespie and Kirsten oversaw Pakistan’s team across all formats. However, a couple of months into their respective stints, Kirsten left his role in October last year after six months into his contract.
After Kirsten’s abrupt departure, Gillespie was handed the task of managing the white-ball setup. Surprisingly, two months later, Gillespie decided to step down from his role, resulting in Aaqib taking over the responsibility on an interim basis.
After an abysmal run in the tournament, Pakistan decided to overhaul the white-ball team to prepare for the future ICC event.
(With ANI Inputs)
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