Jason Gillespie opens up on chaotic Pakistan head coach's job; ‘politics got in the way, left me completely humiliated'

Former Australian cricketer Jason Gillespie opened up on his chaotic tenure as the head coach of Pakistan, stating he “felt completely humiliated” during his turbulent nine-month stint. Gillespie was appointed as the head coach of the Pakistan Test side on 28 April 2024.

On the same day, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) also appointed South African Gary Kirsten as the head coach of the white-ball teams and Azhar Mahmood as assistant coach for all formats. However, six months later, Kirsten stepped down from his position.

The PCB then entrusted Gillespie with the white-ball responsibilities too. However, two months later, Gillespie also stepped down. The former Australian fast bowler had repeatedly spoken publicly about the treatment he received during his time as coach and the non-payment of dues.

The 50-year-old once again opened up against PCB in a question and answer session on X. Responding to a fan's comment, which said, “We love you @dizzy259 from Pakistan. You left our team but not a place from our hearts”, Gillespie stated that he still has good relationships with some of the players, but politics and ego came in the way.

“I really loved working with the players and I still have regular contact with a number of the lads. Sadly, politics and egos got in the way,” Gillespie said. Another user asked Gillespie about his decision to quit Pakistan Cricket. Gillespie stated he had zero communication with PCB.

“I was coaching the Pakistan Test side. The PCB sacked our senior assistant coach with ZERO communication with me about it- as Head Coach, I found this situation completely unacceptable. There were a number of other issues which left me completely humiliated,” he said.

Jason Gillespie's record as Pakistan coach

During his time as a coach of the Test side, Gillespie guided Pakistan to a 2-1 win on home soil against England, before being blanked 0-2 by Bangladesh. It was Pakistan's first-ever Test series loss to Bangladesh.

In the white-ball tour of Australia, where Gillespie was handed the responsibility of managing the team, Pakistan defeated Australia 2-1 in the ODI series before being whitewashed 0-3 in the T20Is.

Pakistan's coaching drama continues

Recently, a report in PTI stated that the PCB has let go of Azhar Mahmood as the Pakistan Test coach, despite three months still remaining on his contract. Following Gillespie's departure, Pakistan had Aquib Javed and Mahmood manage the team on an interim basis before the latter was appointed as the acting head coach.