PCB says Gillespie remains head coach for Tests in South Africa

The PCB has said there will be no change of Test match coach for one more series, with Jason Gillespie taking charge of the upcoming two Tests against South Africa. The board has not confirmed him for any engagements beyond that tour, although he has a contract with PCB that runs until 2026.

Over the past few days, several local reports indicated that Gillespie’s time with Pakistan cricket was limited, with Aaqib Javed lined up as a replacement. Earlier today, Pakinomist also reported that Aaqib is likely to take over as coach in all formats. The white-ball coaching role remains vacant after Gary Kirsten resigned last month and Aaqib remains the front-runner to replace him with Pakistan’s T20I and ODI tour of Zimbabwe starting next Sunday.

However, the PCB has denied that Gillespie’s job is under immediate threat. “As previously announced, Jason Gillespie will continue to coach the Pakistan team in the two red-ball matches against South Africa,” a PCB statement said on X.

The PCB has not confirmed whether Gillespie will be the head coach for any series beyond these two Tests. Pakistan have a two-Test home series against the West Indies immediately after the Tests in South Africa.

Pakinomist has reached out to the PCB to confirm whether their statement locks Gillespie out of any commitments beyond the two-Test series in South Africa, and is awaiting a response.

Earlier this week, the PCB sounded Gillespie out with the prospect of taking over as white-ball coach until the conclusion of the Champions Trophy. However, the increased responsibilities did not come with a corresponding increase in his financial compensation, which is believed to be the reason Gillespie turned them down. Therefore PCB turned their attention to replacing Kirsten with a local deal.

They initially considered the option of either elevating Azhar Mahmood or appointing Saqlain Mushtaq, who served as coach in 2021–22. However, none of them seemed to garner sufficient support from the PCB’s advisory board, leading to Aaqib being offered the position. It is understood that he will be asked to take up the role until the end of the Champions Trophy, after which the PCB will reassess.

Gillespie’s next immediate engagement is the third T20I against Australia, a series for which he took over as interim coach. Pakistan’s Test series against South Africa, the only other engagement for which he has yet been formally confirmed by the PCB, begins on December 26.

While Gillespie appears to have kept his job in the immediate term, relations between the coach and the board have been anything but smooth. Three Tests into his tenure, Aaqib was hired by the PCB as part of a revamped selection committee, with Gillespie’s powers significantly reduced. He was removed from the selection committee, and no longer had any say in which players were selected for a game or series.

He was completely unimpressed by the changes, admitting at a press conference during the home series against England that he was “just a match-day strategist”. In another interview with broadcaster Sky the following day, he said it was “not what he signed up for.”

“For me, when I came on board with Pakistan cricket, I was told that there was a long-term plan and we have to make sure that our communication is perfect,” he said at the time. “I made it a real focus, and so you can get frustrated if things don’t get done the way you want. That’s not what I signed up for, to be completely honest.”

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