Appointed in August of this year, officially designated as the “high-performance red-ball coach,” Nielsen had seen his contract expire; it was up for renewal after Pakistan’s tour of Australia and he had been waiting to hear of a decision on an extension. He told Pakinomist that he felt he was “making good progress” with the team and was fully committed to the Test series against South Africa and the West Indies, but that the PCB had told him his services were no longer required.

It is understood that the PCB did not inform Gillespie in advance that he would no longer have his assistant coach by his side in South Africa, a decision that has left him extremely unimpressed. That he was not consulted beforehand appears to be the main catalyst for his exasperation and fits into a wider pattern of Gillespie’s roles and authority steadily eroding over the past few months.

In October, he was removed from the selection panel for the Test side, saying he was now merely a “matchday strategist”. There was limited communication between the player and the board since the end of Pakistan’s white-ball series in Australia, where he coached the team on an interim basis after Gary Kirsten quit.

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. The PCB has previously attributed not spending enough time in Pakistan as a reason for their dissatisfaction with overseas coaches, particularly in the case of Gary Kirsten, who quit in October. However, Gillespie has always maintained that he has fulfilled his contractual obligations in this regard.

While it is understood that Gillespie has not ruled out the possibility of walking away before the series against South Africa, the terms on which his stay at the PCB ends are still crucially important in what happens next. If the PCB decides to fire him, they could potentially be on the hook to pay out the vast majority of what is left of his contract, which runs until mid-2026. Should he resign of his own accord, the payout is significantly lower.

Gillespie is scheduled to travel to South Africa from his home in Australia on December 13. Pakistan will play the first Test in Centurion on December 26 and the second in Cape Town starting on January 3.

Pakinomist has approached the PCB for comment but has not received a response.