Pakistan red-ball head coach Jason Gillespie has opened up about his role in the team management after the recent changes in the selection committee.
Previously head coach and captain of the respective formats were part of the selection committee as voting members.
However, following Pakistan’s heavy defeat in the first Test against England, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) overhauled the selection committee, removing the captain and coach from the selection process.
“The Pakistan Cricket Board [PCB] has confirmed the recomposition of the men’s national selection committee. It now includes Aleem Dar, Aqib Javed, Asad Shafiq, Azhar Ali and Hasan Cheema as voting members,” the PCB stated.
Jason Gillespie addressed the changes and explained his role during the press conference in Rawalpindi ahead of the third Test against England.
“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,” said Gillespie.
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“I wasn’t involved in the decision-making. I’m now just the coach for matchday strategy, so I just keep out of things now and just focus on the players and getting them ready for cricket.”
The former Australian pacer stated that he is only focused on creating team strategy and has nothing to do with the team selection.
“Look, it’s not for me to talk about now. I am not a selector; I am a matchday strategist as head coach, and I’m all about the players,” he added.
“My focus is on them. I will let the selectors do their job, and we will just go out there and play the best cricket we can possibly play.”
It’s worth noting that Pakistan have announced an unchanged Playing XI for the third Test, while England have added an additional spinner to take advantage of the conditions.
Pakistan Playing XI: Saim Ayub, Abdullah Shafique, Shan Masood (c), Kamran Ghulam, Saud Shakeel (vc), Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Salman Ali Agha, Aamir Jamal, Noman Ali, Sajid Khan, Zahid Mahmood.
England Playing XI: Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Ben Stokes (c), Jamie Smith (wk), Gus Atkinson, Rehan Ahmed, Jack Leach, Shoaib Bashir.
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