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Former South Africa opener Gary Kirsten opened up about his brief stint as the Pakistan cricket team’s coach.
Gary’s appointment as ODI and T20I coach of the Pakistan team came in April 2024 alongside Jason Gillespie, who was handed the reins of the Test side.
However, despite signing a two-year contract, his tenure lasted only six months before he tendered his resignation. The resignation followed a rift with the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) over selection issues.
In an interview with TalkSport, Kirsten spoke candidly about the challenges he faced during his stint.
The 58-year-old also highlighted the outside noise and tough environment that contributed to his resignation, adding that he had never encountered anything like it before.
“What really stood out to me was the sheer level of interference. I’ve never encountered anything like it before. Did it catch me off guard? Maybe, but it was definitely notable,” he revealed.
“It’s really challenging for a coach to establish a system with the players when there’s nonstop interference from outside. It was a tough environment, with many punitive measures for poor performance and similar issues,” he continued.
Kirsten further stated that coaches are always in the firing line when a team ends on the losing side. He noted that removing coaches is often seen as the easiest option and questioned the very purpose of appointing them.
“As a coach, you’re often the first to be blamed when the team struggles. People say things like ‘let’s remove the coach’ or ‘let’s impose restrictions on the coach’ because it’s the easiest way to react—but in my opinion, it’s completely counterproductive. If that’s the approach, why even hire a coach?” he concluded.
