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Former Australian cricketer Jason Gillespie, who briefly served as Pakistan’s head coach, has opened up about his disappointing experience with the team, which led him to reconsider his passion for coaching. He admitted that the experience has significantly dampened his enthusiasm for coaching, leaving him uncertain about whether he would ever pursue it again on a full-time basis.
A Challenging Coaching Journey with Pakistan
Gillespie took over as Pakistan’s Test coach in April of the previous year, but his tenure ended abruptly in December. He resigned after being caught off guard by several decisions made by the team management behind his back. This left him feeling exhausted and disillusioned, leading him to step away from coaching responsibilities.
In an interview with Wisden, Gillespie candidly expressed his current lack of interest in coaching, even if offered a position by his home country. “Right now, I’m not sure I’m interested in coaching full time. [Even if Australia come calling] No, I’m not interested,” he said.
Although he had initially been appointed as the interim coach for Pakistan’s white-ball team following Gary Kirsten’s resignation in 2024, Gillespie quit shortly after leading the side to a historic ODI series victory over Australia.
The Breaking Point and Sour Experience
Gillespie did not hold back his criticism of Aqib Javed, who succeeded him as Pakistan’s interim head coach in March. Referring to Javed as a “clown,” he expressed frustration with the way Javed allegedly undermined his authority during his coaching stint.
“The Pakistan experience has soured my love for coaching, I’ll be honest. I’ll get it back, I’m sure I will, but that was a blow. It disappointed me how that all ended. It’s had me question whether I want to coach full time again,” Gillespie admitted.
He also shared his disappointment regarding the lack of communication from the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), which he felt had left him out of key decisions. This breakdown in communication led him to believe that the PCB no longer wanted him in the role. “There were certainly challenges. I went into the job eyes wide open, I want to make that clear. I knew that, you know, Pakistan had cycled through several coaches in a pretty short space of time,” Gillespie explained to ABC Sport.
“The straw that broke the camel’s back, I suppose, was, as a head coach, you like to have clear communication with your employer. I was completely and utterly blindsided by a decision to not have a high-performance coach,” he added.
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