Last Updated on 4 weeks ago by Charbel Coorey
Former South African cricketer and one of the top coaches in the cricket world, Gary Kirsten, opened up about his coaching stint with the Pakistan cricket team. Talking to the talkSPORT Cricket YouTube channel, he spoke about the challenges he faced as he aimed to implement his strategies and style.
Surprised with the level of interference in Pakistan cricket – Gary Kirsten
When asked about how he’ll look back at his six-month stint with the Pakistan cricket team, Kirsten said, “I’m the perennial career coach. So, I look at every coaching experience as a wonderful opportunity and a wonderful experience.
“There were frustrations along the way. I think the thing that surprised me probably more than anything was the level of interference. I don’t think I’ve ever seen it at that level before. Did it surprise me? I don’t know.”
Kirsten then spoke of the difficulty of working with the players and developing strategies without influence from outside. In light of his comments, it becomes even more clear as to why Pakistan struggle for consistency.
“But it was certainly significant,” Kirsten continued. “It’s quite difficult for a coach to formulate a way that you can work with the players when there’s just this constant noise from the outside. I think I really enjoyed working with the players.
“It was tough just with this constant noise from the outside and a lot of punitive actions around poor performance. As a coach, you’re the lowest-hanging fruit when the team’s not going well.”
Kirsten concluded by saying that actions like getting rid of the coach or putting a restriction on the coach are the easiest things when the team’s not performing, and they are counterproductive in his view.
“Then why recruit the coach? Recruit someone that you need to recruit that suits your needs rather than someone that is going to run the team how they see fit,” Kirsten said.
Gary Kirsten was appointed as Pakistan’s head coach in April 2024 under a 2-year contract, but he resigned from his position in October 2024 after disagreements with the PCB regarding interference in squad selection and other issues. In this period, Pakistan suffered a humiliating exit from the 2024 T20 World Cup.
