Tag: Gary Kirsten

Former Pakistan Test cricketer Atiq-uz-Zaman recently criticized the national white-ball men’s head coach Gary Kirsten over his remarks in his report to the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB).

Kirsten reportedly wrote a confidential report to the PCB, which got leaked in the media, in which he highlighted the issues that contributed to Pakistan’s disastrous performance during the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024.

The former champions failed to advance to the Super Eights stage, mainly due to their upset defeat against co-host United States of America (USA) in the campaign opener, followed by a gut-wrenching defeat against arch-rivals India.

Kirsten’s report highlighted the Pakistan cricket team’s disciplinary and fitness issues. However, Atiq-uz-Zaman did not mince his words in slamming Kirsten over complaining to the PCB, rather than solving the issues.

“Gary Kirsten came in and started complaining already. If you had the leadership skills, why are you complaining to the board about it? You should have resolved it while you were there. So, fingers crossed, I hope they do well, but I don’t see things getting fixed quickly,” Atiq said.

Follow us on our Official WhatsApp channel

Former Pakistan captain Salman Butt also voiced a similar opinion yesterday, that management should be taking action not complaining.

During an appearance at ARY News’ show Sports Room, Butt was asked whether the authorities would take any action against Shaheen Afridi for his alleged misconduct.

The former captain, in response, emphasized that the management should have taken action straightaway but instead, they kept on selecting Shaheen Afridi for every World Cup fixture.

“If he was not disciplined then they should have dropped him and opted to go with some other player,” Butt stated.

“But, if you gave him full opportunity despite all these issues and are now complaining I think, anybody can do that. What’s the point of appointing [big names] with hefty salaries?” Salman Butt questioned.

“Management’s job is not to complain but to take action,” he concluded.

READ: Hardik Pandya confirms divorce with Natasa Stankovic

LAHORE: Pakistan men’s cricket team’s white-ball head coach Gary Kirsten, red-ball head coach Jason Gillespie, and assistant coach Azhar Mahmood met at the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) headquarters on Wednesday.

The three coaches discussed the ongoing situation of the team and the future plans to steer the team in the right direction.

Notably, Gary Kirsten, Jason Gillespie, and Azhar Mahmood also met the chairman of PCB Mohsin Naqvi yesterday, where they discussed making a comprehensive coaching plan for the national team.

Kirsten and Gillespie put forward their plans to improve the team’s performance in their respective formats, with a major emphasis on improving the fielding and fitness of the players along with batting and bowling.

Follow us on our Official WhatsApp channel

Chairman PCB expressed his confidence in the coaches and gave them free-hand to make their decisions, ensuring complete support.

The coaches and the chairman agreed on the fact that there is an abundance of talent in Pakistan, however, there is a need to make the right combinations to take the best out of each player’s ability.

Meanwhile, in another development, former cricketers Wahab Riaz and Abdul Razzaq were expelled from the seven-member Pakistan Men’s Cricket Selection Committee yesterday.

With Wahab Riaz and Abdul Razzaq’s expulsion, the selection committee now features Asad Shafique and Mohammad Yousuf, who, are most likely to lose their positions too as the formation of the new selection committee is on the cards.

READ: Aamer Jamal’s stint with Warwickshire cut short due to injury

The chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Mohsin Naqvi met white-ball head coach Gary Kirsten, red-ball head coach Jason Gillespie, and assistant coach Azhar Mahmood on Tuesday.

Pakistan’s Director of International Cricket Usman Wahla was also present at the meeting, where the participants discussed making a comprehensive coaching plan for the national team.

Kirsten and Gillespie put forward their plans to improve the team’s performance in their respective formats, with a major emphasis on improving the fielding and fitness of the players along with batting and bowling.

Chairman PCB expressed his confidence in the coaches and gave them free-hand to make their decisions, ensuring complete support.

Follow us on our Official WhatsApp channel

The coaches and the chairman agreed on the fact that there is an abundance of talent in Pakistan, however, there is a need to make the right combinations to take the best out of each player’s ability.

Pakistan team’s next assignment is a two-match home Test series against Bangladesh, starting from August 21 in Rawalpindi. This series will be Pakistan’s first Test series under Gillespie.

Prior to that, Gillespie will travel to Darwin with the Pakistan Shaheens as the team’s head coach for their four-day games.

He will return to Pakistan after the second four-day match against Bangladesh ‘A’, which finishes on 29 July, to assume responsibilities as the national side’s head coach and commence preparations for Bangladesh series.

READ: James Anderson urges next generation to embrace Test cricket

Pakistan’s white-ball head coach Gary Kirsten and assistant coach Azhar Mahmood have reached Lahore on Monday.

The two coaches will meet the chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Mohsin Naqvi to analyze and discuss the various factors contributing to the team’s disappointing performance in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024.

Additionally, they will deliberate on strategies and future plans to steer the team in a more positive direction.

Along with Gary Kirsten and Azhar Mahmood, Pakistan’s red-ball head coach Jason Gillespie is also set to reach Lahore today.

Moreover, Mohsin Naqvi will also be meeting former captain Sarfaraz Ahmed and other former cricketers to discuss the ongoing issues of the national men’s cricket team.

It is pertinent to mention Naqvi recently shared that former players will make the decision regarding the future of white-ball captain Babar Azam.

Follow us on our Official WhatsApp channel

“No decision [on captaincy] has been taken so far related to Babar Azam,” said the PCB chief, adding that he is seeking advice from former cricketers on how to improve cricket in Pakistan.

“I’m only speaking to those former cricketers who are interested in the betterment of Pakistan cricket,” he added.

The Babar Azam-led Pakistan team were knocked out from the group stage of the T20 World Cup, majorly because of their upset defeat against the USA, followed by a gut-wrenching defeat against arch-rivals India.

The back-to-back defeats had put Pakistan on the verge of an early exit from the tournament while the abandonment of the crucial group-stage fixture between the USA and Ireland officially marked the end of their campaign in T20 World Cup 2024.

The Green Shirts’s next assignment is a two-match home Test series against Bangladesh and Sarfaraz Ahmed is expected to be part of the series.

READ: Pakistan beat England to reach World Championship of Legends semi-finals

NEW YORK: Pakistan’s white-ball head coach Gary Kirsten shared that all-rounder Imad Wasim is fit and available for the team’s blockbuster T20 World Cup 2024 clash against arch-rivals India, scheduled on June 9.

Kirsten addressed the pre-match conference on the eve of the highly-anticipated fixture between arch-rivals Pakistan and India and confirmed Imad Wasim’s availability for the big game. He also expressed his hope for a turnaround for the Green Shirts in the tournament.

“Imad Wasim will be available for the match against India,” Kirsten confirmed.

“We will make a comeback in tomorrow’s match hopefully. I don’t like to dwell on the past, we will forget the previous loss [against the USA] and focus on the match [against India] and play excellent cricket,” he added.

Kirsten then discussed the nature of the T20s and emphasized the need to improve decision-making to excel in the format.

Just like Indian captain Rohit Sharma, Gary Kirsten asserted that playing a couple of games at a venue would not benefit a team.

“Things change quickly in T20s, we have to move the decision-making,” Kirsten said. “Nobody gets an advantage if a team plays two or four more games here.”

Follow us on our Official WhatsApp channel

Kirsten then went on to share that Pakistan’s Playing XI has not been finalized as of yet as the management is analyzing a few players’ fitness.

“We are looking at the fitness of a couple of players so the playing XI has not been decided yet. The players know about [the game of] one another, we will have to play our best game according to the conditions.”

For the unversed, Pakistan and India will lock horns for the eighth time in a T20 World Cup when they square off at the newly-built Nassau County International Cricket Stadium on June 9.

Out of seven matches played thus far between the arch-rivals, India emerged victorious six times while Pakistan tasted triumph only once.

The two teams boast contrasting momentums as India eased past Ireland by eight wickets in the campaign opener while Pakistan succumbed to a humiliating defeat against the USA.

Pakistan squad for T20 World Cup 2024

Babar Azam (c), Abrar Ahmed, Abbas Afridi, Mohammad Rizwan, Usman Khan, Fakhar Zaman, Iftikhar Ahmed, Shadab Khan, Azam Khan, Imad Wasim, Mohammad Amir, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Haris Rauf, Naseem Shah, Saim Ayub.

India squad for T20 World Cup 2024

Rohit Sharma (c), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant, Sanju Samson, Hardik Pandya (vc), Shivam Dube, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Arshdeep Singh, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj.

READ: Rohit Sharma wary of Pakistan’s potential to bounce back

LEEDS: Pakistan cricket team’s white-ball head coach Gary Kirsten has joined the squad here on Sunday ahead of the T20I series against England, starting from May 22.

The former South African batter was welcomed by team management and white-ball captain Babar Azam. Meanwhile, senior team manager Wahab Riaz presented the team’s training jersey to Gary Kirsten.

Pakistan men’s white-ball head coach Gary Kirsten joins the team in Leeds ahead of the #ENGvPAK T20I series. pic.twitter.com/wu0K6jRuV8

— Pakistan Cricket (@TheRealPCB) May 19, 2024

Gary Kirsten will oversee the team’s practice sessions from Monday, which is scheduled to run from 9:30 AM to 12:30 PM local time.

Pakistan team’s final practice session before the first T20I is scheduled on Tuesday from 1:30 PM to 4:30 PM local time.

The Green Shirts will play the first match of the four-match T20I series against England at Headingley on May 22.

Follow us on our Official WhatsApp channel

After the conclusion of the England series, the Pakistan team will depart for the United States of America (USA) to participate in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024.

The 2009 champions will start their campaign against co-host USA on June 6 before taking on arch-rivals India on June 9.

Pakistan squad

Babar Azam (c), Abrar Ahmed, Azam Khan, Fakhar Zaman, Haris Rauf, Hasan Ali, Iftikhar Ahmed, Imad Wasim, Mohammad Abbas Afridi, Mohammad Amir, Mohammad Rizwan, Irfan Khan, Naseem Shah, Saim Ayub, Salman Agha, Shadab Khan, Shaheen Afridi, Usman Khan.

Series schedule

May 22: First T20I at Leeds

May 25: Second T20I at Birmingham

May 28: Third T20I at Cardiff

May 30: Fourth T20I at The Oval

READ: Manchester City win historic fourth consecutive Premier League title

Pakistan’s white-ball head coach, Gary Kirsten, has expressed his aim to support national team’s white-ball captain, Babar Azam, in reaching his full potential as a batter.

During an interview with TalkSport Cricket, former South African cricketer Kirsten praised Azam’s recent batting performance but suggested that he needs to play his natural game more often.

“I have been in touch with Babar. He has done remarkably well as a cricketer and sort of carries a lot of the weight of that team on his shoulders,” said Kirsten.

He also opened up about his plan as head coach to help Azam play his natural game.

“What we would try to do as a coaching staff is to lift that a little bit and to realize he’s just one of a whole group of players and then he can just free himself up to play with his natural talent.

Follow us on our Official WhatsApp channel

“We certainly saw that in the last game against Ireland and I think he played an outstanding inning and hopefully we see kind of a lot more of that Babar Azam rather than the one that feels that he has to be contributing all the time to a team.

Kirsten emphasized that T20 cricket demands more than one match winner in a team. He stated that he and his coaching staff are committed to establishing a team dynamic where multiple players can step up and deliver match-winning performances on any day.

“That’s not fair on any player but I think that we can unlock that and feel like there’s a big group of guys that can make match-winning contributions, especially in T20 cricket, that will take a lot of pressure off him and I think he’s happy to be back as a captain, so I am looking to working in that relationship with captain and coach.”

Kirsten is set to join Pakistan team on May 19 in Leeds, where the Green Shirts will play the first of the four-match T20I series against England on May 22.

READ: India’s Sunil Chhetri announces retirement from international football

LEEDS: Pakistan’s white-ball head coach Gary Kirsten is set to join the team ahead of the T20I series against England here on May 19.

The four-match series will commence on May 22 at Headingley, followed by the second match at Edgbaston on May 25.

Kirsten will be joined by fielding coach Simon Helmot and Mental Performance Coach David Reid in the team management.

The former South African batter expressed his excitement about his new role with the Pakistan team.

Follow us on our Official WhatsApp channel

” I am excited to start a new journey with Pakistan. The new management and all the players are determined to deliver solid results,” said Gary Kirsten.

After the conclusion of the series, the Pakistan team will depart for the United States of America (USA) to participate in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024.

Notably, the Pakistani cricket team is currently in Ireland, competing in a three-match T20I series, which is tied at 1-1. The final match will be played later today in Dublin.

Pakistan squad for Ireland and England T20Is

Babar Azam (c), Abrar Ahmed, Azam Khan, Fakhar Zaman, Haris Rauf, Hasan Ali, Iftikhar Ahmed, Imad Wasim, Mohammad Abbas Afridi, Mohammad Amir, Mohammad Rizwan, Irfan Khan, Naseem Shah, Saim Ayub, Salman Agha, Shadab Khan, Shaheen Afridi, Usman Khan.

READ: Cricket Australia to set up India Fan Zones during Border-Gavaskar Trophy

Pakistan’s newly-appointed white-ball head coach Gary Kirsten expressed his determination to provide clarity to the players ahead of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024.

Kirsten appeared in the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) podcast and acknowledged the challenge of a quick turnaround but remained hopeful of creating a structure within the team over the course of the three weeks to provide ample clarity to the players heading into the World Cup.

He also lauded Azhar Mahmood for doing a great job as the “interim head coach” and revealed they have been contacting as a team.

“It just so happened that I am on an assignment. So, it was difficult to move away. I’ve got to see my contract out here.

“But the plans are already in place. Azhar Mahmood as interim head coach is doing a great job. We are communicating at the moment. I’m getting to understand the team and how they’re playing.

Follow us on our Official WhatsApp channel

“I’m watching them play, which is great. I certainly have get my head in the space, but at an arm’s length. We’re in communication as a team but at the moment he’s running the show, I don’t want to lead from a distance because I don’t think that that is a healthy space to be in. It’s difficult actually, but we are doing the best we can.

“It is going to be a quick turnaround (for me), there’s no doubt, we just have to accept that. But, we are hoping that we can build some structures into the team over the course of the next three weeks or so to provide clarity that the players need going into the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup.”

Notably, Gary Kirsten is serving as the coach and mentor of the Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise Gujarat Titans.

During his tenure, besides the upcoming ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024 and other bilateral white-ball series, Kirsten will also be in charge of the side for next year’s ICC Champions Trophy 2025 in Pakistan, ACC T20 Asia Cup 2025 and the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 in India and Sri Lanka.

READ: Jason Gillespie wants Pakistan Test side to play “their way”

Gary Kirsten and Jason Gillespie were named as Pakistan’s head coaches for white-ball and red-ball cricket respectively, and they shared their thoughts on their new roles on Sunday.

The appointments were announced by the PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi during a press conference held here today.

Kirsten will take charge as the head coach of Pakistan’s ODI and T20I sides immediately after completing his assignment in the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL).

During his tenure, besides the upcoming ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024 and other bilateral white-ball series, Kirsten will also be in charge of the side for next year’s ICC Champions Trophy 2025 in Pakistan, ACC T20 Asia Cup 2025 and the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 in India and Sri Lanka.

“It’s a tremendous honour to be entrusted with the responsibility of coaching the Pakistan men’s national team in white-ball cricket and to rejoin the international cricket arena after some time,” stated Kirsten.

“I eagerly anticipate this opportunity and aim to contribute positively to the Pakistan men’s national team in limited-overs cricket.

“My goal is to unite the Pakistan men’s white-ball team, harnessing their considerable talents towards a common objective, and achieving success together on the field.

“My perspective on Pakistan cricket has remained consistent over time. There’s always an inherent expectation for the team to perform at a high level consistently.

Follow us on our Official WhatsApp channel

“However, in team sports, maintaining peak performance is not always guaranteed. As a coach, it’s immensely gratifying to assist players in unlocking their full potential.

“I eagerly anticipate collaborating with the individual players and the team, facilitating their growth and development.”

Meanwhile, Gillespie will assume responsibilities for the ICC World Test Championship fixtures against Bangladesh (at home in August), which will be followed by Tests against England (at home in October) and South Africa (away in December) in the 2024-25 season.

“I am grateful to the PCB for their faith in my abilities and giving me the honour of coaching one of the most highly-regarded and talented cricket teams in the traditional format of the sport,” said Gillespie.

“Leading the Pakistan cricket team is a big achievement for any coach, given its rich legacy and passionate fan base.

“I love Test cricket and being able to focus on that is something I like very much. I also love the fact that there is so much talent in Pakistan.

“I like to think that I can help in some way to grow and develop the players. I want to win Tests – that is why I am taking this role. I love winning and I know we have got the skill to make that happen.

“Ultimately, it is all about playing the style of cricket we want to play, one that helps us win matches excites the public and puts smiles on the faces of everyone connected with Pakistan cricket.

“Within Pakistan, we have a number of high-quality fast bowlers and being able to utilise them will be a key part of any success we enjoy.”

READ: PCB appoints Kirsten, Gillespie as coaches for white, red-ball cricket