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Gary Kirsten resigns as Pakistan coach, unhappiness with PCB mooted as major reasons: Reports

Former Cricket legend Gary Kirsten is set to resign as Pakistan's white ball coach just six months after taking charge as reports of a rift with PCB come to the fore.

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Gary Kirsten (Source-X)

*Former Indian World Cup winning coach Gary Kirsten’s tenure as the Pakistani white-ball coach is set to end. This is a huge blow for the men in green and the Pakistan Cricket Board. The team is set to tour Australia and Zimbabwe for a series of ODI and T20I matches starting in November.  

On Sunday, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) announced Mohammad Rizwan as the new skipper of the side. Salman Agha has been appointed as the new vice-captain as the pair will take charge for the upcoming two overseas tours. In a huge move, PCB has also taken Fakhar Zaman from the central contract list. 

The left-handed batter was punished for his tweet supporting Babar Azam after the former skipper was dropped. This didn’t sit down well with the management who have taken strict action against the player. 

According to some reports, Gary Kirsten wasn’t too happy with the powers taken away from his hands. This left the former World Cup-winning coach without any say as far as the team selection was concerned. One of the biggest grouses the South Africans had was the appointment of a new selection after which the new changes came into effect. 

Gary Kirsten unhappy with PCB?

According to reports carried out by ESPNCRICINFO, former India coach Gary Kirsten wasn’t happy with a lot of things happening behind the scenes. The decision to take away selection powers from Kirsten and Gillespie didn’t sit down well with the former. 

This decision even left Test coach Jason Gillespie upset who had aired his grievances during a chat with SKY Sports. The former Australian star had said “I think there are always frustrations from time to time” 

Jason Gillespie also said “For me, when I came on board with Pakistan cricket, I was told there was a long-term plan, and we need to make sure our communication's spot on. I made that a real focus and so you can get frustrated if those things aren't done how you would like”

“It wasn't what I signed up for, I'll be completely honest. But this is one of those situations in which you just need to go with the flow. As I said, I'm in a different environment and things are done differently. One can agree or disagree with how things are done, but ultimately I'm here to help the Pakistan team do well, help the players get better, improve. So I've put all my focus and energy into that." Added Pakistan’s Test coach while speaking to SKY Sports. 

It is believed that Gary Kirsten is set to give a statement about his resignation. According to reports, Gillespie could be given full charge of the whiteball team as well. If the Australian isn’t considered then Pakistan may consider one of their former players to take charge. 

Babar Azam Pakistan Cricket Board Mohammad Rizwan Gary Kirsten Fakhar Zaman Jason Gillespie
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