Jason Gillespie resigns as Pakistan red-ball coach; Aaqib Javed steps in

Lahore: Jason Gillespie stepped down from his role as Pakistan’s Test team coach and former pacer Aaqib Javed has replaced the Australian for the upcoming two-match series against South Africa, PCB announced on Thursday.

Pakistan will play two Tests against the Proteas from December 26, and they are already in the Rainbow Nation for the white-ball leg of the tour.

Aaqib is currently the interim coach of Pakistan white ball outfits.

Gillespie, whose contract was set to expire in 2026, resigned after the Pakistan Cricket Board didn’t review the contract of Tim Nielsen, who was brought in on the recommendation of the former Aussie quick, as the high performance coach of the team.

Gillespie was also peeved at the PCB’s decision to absolve him of the powers of team selection and involvement in pitch preparation.

It may be recalled that Gary Kirsten, who joined as the white ball side’s coach along with Gillespie, had resigned before Pakistan left for the series in Australia, Zimbabwe and South Africa.

Kirsten had resigned citing differences with the PCB on the matters of authority.

Both Gillespie and Kirsten were appointed on a two-year contract before the T20 World Cup 2024 and the PCB had promised a new era for the Pakistan team.

But once Aaqib was brought in as senior selector and PCB granted him full powers including in team selection, the foreign coaches started falling out with the board.