All is going well in Pakistan cricket at the moment. Gary Kirsten, the coach who led India to victory in the 2011 World Cup, has bid farewell to Pakistan cricket. Kirsten is the head coach of the Pakistan White Team. Kirsten’s term was for two years, but she left within six months. Kirsten’s departure is a big blow to the Pakistan team given that the Champions Trophy will be held next year.
Pakistan cricket is no less than a circus…
If the past year is any indication, the earthquake in Pakistan cricket last year continues. Pakistan cricket is nothing less than a circus. The series of misfortunes for the Pakistan team began during the 2023 International Cricket World Cup in India in October-November last year. Pakistan’s performance in that World Cup was very poor.
Subsequently, under the leadership of Babar Azam, Pakistan won only 4 out of 9 games and could not even reach the semi-finals. Chief selector Inzamam ul Haq resigned from his post during the Cricket World Cup. Subsequently, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) also completely changed the team’s logistics staff. The action was taken by then PCB chief Zaka Ashraf. He appointed Mohammad Hafeez as Director of Cricket.
On the other hand, Babar Azam resigned as captain of all three formats in November 2023 due to poor performance. Following this, Shan Masood was appointed as the captain of the Test team and Shaheen Afridi was appointed as the captain of the T20 team. However, despite the change of captain, Pakistan continued to suffer defeats. Australia defeated Pakistan 3-0 in the Test series, while Pakistan lost the T20 series to New Zealand.
Since then, PCB has undergone major changes again, with Mohsin Naqvi becoming the new chairman. Naqvi relieved Shaheen Afridi of the T20 team captaincy in March 2023. At the same time, Mohammad Hafez was also removed from office. Then in April, Babar Azam was named captain for ODIs and T20s. The board appointed Jason Gillespie as coach of the Test team and Gary Kirsten as coach of the ODI and T20 teams.
How long can Jason Gillespie last?
Jason Gillespie is still playing in the Pakistan team, but in this situation, it remains to be seen how long he will be available for Pakistan cricket. On the other hand, even with Babar Azam as captain again, Pakistan team’s fortunes did not change and they were eliminated in the first round of the 2024 T20 World Cup. Pakistan also had to face the failure of the United States.
Babar Azam resigned again due to poor performance in the T20 World Cup. In this situation, wicketkeeper-batsman Mohammad Rizwan has been appointed as the captain in white-ball cricket. Salman Ali Agha was appointed as the vice-captain. Overall, the captain changed three times in 12 months. Now, just a day after Rizwan became captain, Gary Kirsten has left the team.
🗣️ @iMRizwanPak Shared his thoughts on being appointed as Pakistan white-ball captain, expressing his determination to fulfill this responsibility and lead the team forward 🇵🇰 pic.twitter.com/SzroybEGKv
— Pakistan Cricket (@TheRealPCB) October 28, 2024
Let us tell you that PCB has taken away the team selection rights from Gary Kirsten. This power belongs only to the selection panel in which he is no longer involved. Kirsten was angry about this. Even when Rizwan was appointed, Kirsten’s opinion was not taken on board. After losing to England in the first Test, Pakistan announced its new selection panel. This is the third time this has happened in three months. Ajib Javed, Aleem Dar, Azhar Ali, Asad Shafiq and Hassan Cheema were all involved, while the coach and captain were dropped from the selection panel.
Now Pakistan is on tour of Australia, playing three ODIs and as many T20 games. First up is the ODI series, with the first match taking place on November 4. Surprisingly, Pakistan played its last ODI match at the Cricket World Cup on November 11 last year. After that, Pakistan did not play a 50-over match for about 12 months.
Pakistan in ODI series against Australia: Amir Jamal, Abdullah Shafiq, Arafat Mihas, Babar Azam, Faisal Akram, Haris Rauf, Hasibullah ( Weekly), Kamran Ghulam, Mohammad Hasnan, Mohammad Rizwan (Week/Captain), Mohammad Irrfan Khan, Naseem Shah, Sam Ayub, Sa Man Ali Aghasaheen Shah Afridi (Vice Captain)
T20 series Pakistan vs Australia: Arafat Mihas, Babar Azam, Haris Rauf, Hasibullah, Jahanda Khan, Mohammad Abbas Afridi, Mohammad Rizwan (captain/ Captain), Mohammad Irrfan Khan, Naseem Shah, Omer bin Yusuf, Sahibzada Farhan, Salman Ali Agha (vice-captain), Shaheen Shah Afridi, Sufyan Mokin, Usman Khan.
Pakistan travel plans to Australia
November 4: 1st ODI, Melbourne
November 8: 2nd ODI, Adelaide
November 10: 3rd ODI, Perth
November 14: 1st T20, Brisbane
November 16: 2nd T20, Sydney
November 18: 3rd T20, Hobart
