Jason Gillespie has resigned as head coach of Pakistan’s Test side, according to the PCB. This was officially confirmed after a few days of lingering uncertainty, culminating in Gillespie refusing to board his flight to join Pakistan’s Test team in South Africa. Gillespie’s scheduled flight to South Africa was at 6 a.m. Adelaide time on Friday, but he informed the PCB that he had no intention of boarding it and instead decided to walk away as relations between the coach and the board hit an all-time low. Aaqib Javed takes over as Test coach on an interim basis for the series in South Africa; he is currently the interim coach of both white-ball sides.
Pakinomist had first reported that Gillespie’s days as head coach of Pakistan ended last month and that Aaqib would take over across formats. At the time, the PCB responded by refuting that story, insisting that Gillespie would be coach for the two Tests against South Africa, while pointedly refusing to commit to declaring that he would see out of his contract. However, the relationship between the board and the coach only went from bad to worse and Gillespie would not take charge of another Test for Pakistan again.
As Pakinomist first reported, Gillespie was left particularly angry after the PCB decided to renew high-performing red-ball coach Tim Nielsen’s contract, having been left considering his options. Gillespie was offended that he was not consulted or even told before this decision was made and it is believed to have left a lack of respect on the part of the PCB. Nielsen told Pakinomist he was happy to continue and fully available for Pakistan’s Test series in South Africa and at home against the West Indies next month, but was informed his services would no longer be required.
This seems to have been the last straw for Gillespie. Pakinomist understands he has communicated his intention not to travel in the current circumstances to the board. Whether PCB has contacted him to persuade him to travel is unclear; a source close to Gillespie said the PCB had not contacted him in the past 24 hours.
Either way, a relationship that has been constantly falling apart over the past few months reached breaking point. Gillespie was hired by the PCB to great fanfare alongside Gary Kirsten in April, with chairman Mohsin Naqvi saying his “stellar track record” preceded him. But since October, the board has cooled on the Australian, initially removing him from the selection panel for the Test side. It made him think he was just a “matchday analyst” pointing out that’s not what he signed up for. He is believed to have had negligible input into the selection of the Test squad for the tour of South Africa and was out of the loop for the decision not to extend Nielsen’s contract.
There has been limited communication between Gillespie and the board since the end of Pakistan’s white-ball series in Australia, where he coached the team on an interim basis after Kirsten quit. The PCB initially asked Gillespie to take this position until the Champions Trophy, but without an accompanying financial offer to reflect the increased scope of his role. It was another factor that led to strained relations between the board and the head coach.
Gillespie’s anger is understood to stem in part from what he believed was a good relationship Nielsen had developed with the players, a point he had made more than once publicly. It is believed that both Gillespie and Nielsen consider the fact that Nielsen is not based in Pakistan as the reason why his contract has not been renewed, but as Nielsen confirmed, he would have been available for the upcoming two tours in their entirety .
While it is understood the PCB is yet to make a decision on any potential replacement for Nielsen, the current administration has sought to replace overseas coaches it appointed earlier this year with Pakistan-based ones. Aaqib, who took over the whiteball teams on an interim basis next month, will now coach in all formats and is also on the selection panel.
Gillespie’s resignation potentially saves the PCB from paying out the entire remainder of his contract, which they would have needed if they had decided to fire him. It was believed to be a consideration in Gillespie’s initial reluctance to quit, even when it became clear that the PCB no longer wanted him there.
Pakistan will play the first Test in Centurion on December 26 and the second in Cape Town starting on January 3.
This article was updated at 18:32 GMT after Gillespie’s official departure
