Jason Gillespie, a former Pakistan Test coach, has taken a strong stand against Pakistan Chief Selector Aaqib Javed’s criticisms and accusations of negligence.
For a limited eight months beginning in April 2024, Gillespie oversaw both the red and white ball teams. The 2-1 Test series triumph over England in the winter of 2024—who had hammered Pakistan at home two years prior—was a watershed moment in his reign.
Javed chastised Gillespie and then-captain Shan Masood for their perceived recklessness in failing to defeat the Englishmen after they thrashed Pakistan in the series’ first Test in Multan. Gillespie recounted the conversation, including Javed’s comments about the subject.
“I believe this is personal for me as well. It is a question for Aaqib Javed, the Pakistan cricket team’s chairman of selectors. Why did Gary Kirsten and Jason Gillespie resign? And then he came out and was quoted, which I’ll repeat verbatim. They used to overrule all selectors.
“They were unwilling to listen to anyone. I travelled to Multan to speak with Jason and Shan Masood, the captain. I asked them what their plan was following the first test against England. They had no plan.
I said, “This is not going to work.” We have to change both the pitch and the team. We brought in the spinners. Pakistan won. “That’s when things started going wrong,” Gillespie remarked on the Fast Bowling Cartel Podcast.
The second Test, which Pakistan eventually won, took place on the same pitch as the first. Gillespie disclosed the behind-the-scenes details, revealing that Javed entered the dressing room and informed the squad that they would play on the same surface as the first Test and that the team would be changed to accommodate spinners Sajid Khan and Noman Ali. The former Australian fast bowler revealed that Javed breached the fitness standard for player selection by altering the squad.
You stepped in and announced, “This is what we’re doing; we’re changing the team.” We are playing on the same surface that we just completed a five-day test on in four days, so it will be a day 10 or 11 surface.
And I asked him why we were doing that when we already had other surfaces prepared, because you have to prepare the best surface possible and play on the greatest surface available. Gillespie explained that the spinners were not used because the new selectors only allowed players who passed fitness tests to be chosen.
There was a 2K time trial, and if you didn’t meet the requirements, you couldn’t pick them. So there were a few players we couldn’t choose. So I shared this with Aaqib. He stated, “I’ve spoken with the chairman, and we can pick who we want, and I can pick who I want.”
Gillespie also expressed his disgust with the pitch curators’ attempts to artificially wear down the pitch and their discussions of putting sand to the surface to promote turn.
“My issue with the pitch was that I disagreed with the notion to sprinkle it with sand as well. Not only was it a 10- to 11-day pitch, but to sprinkle it with sand, what? I disagree with that. That was what I disagreed with.
What I also disagreed with was that when we travelled to Rawalpindi after winning the test match, there were large industrial dryers on the pitch. And men are scratching them with nails. So I didn’t agree with that either,” Gillespie explained.
Gillespie said that the former Australian fast bowler was compelled to take over as Pakistan’s white-ball coach after Gary Kirsten was fired following the team’s defeat in the first Test.
Gillespie found the dilemma amusing. “And you know what the funniest thing about that is?” Gary Kirsten was removed of his duties as a selector following our loss in the test match.
He last coached the white ball squad three months ago. After three months of no cricket, he was removed of his duties as a selector. And then there was the team; he had been a part of the selection process for the squad that would travel to Australia.
Then Aaqib stepped in and altered the entire squad. And Gary genuinely responded, “Well, I wasn’t consulted on any of this,” Gillespie said.
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