Pakistan’s Test team coach Jason Gillespie, left, chats with Test team’s skipper Shan Masood during a practice session, in Rawalpindi, Pakistan, Wednesday, Oct. 23, 2024. (AP Photo)
Pakistan cricket team head coach Jason Gillespie has revealed that he’s “no longer a selector” with the Pakistan men’s side after the Pakistan Cricket Board announced a new selection committee in the middle of the team’s series against England.
Gillespie added that his role with the Pakistan cricket team was now just as a “coach for match-day strategy”. The Australian has reportedly been excluded along with captain Shan Masood from having any say in selection matters.
The new selection committee announced by the PCB — which includes former umpire Aleem Dar besides Aaqib Javed — named an unchanged playing XI for the third Test after their win over England in Multan.
“The PCB came out and made some changes after that (first) Test. It was decided that a new selection panel would come in and that they would be making the decisions. I am now the coach for match-day strategy. I keep out of things now and focus on getting the players ready for cricket,” Gillespie said at the press conference ahead of the third Test.
Levelling up the fielding game 🏏🧤
Pakistan’s training session glimpses before the third Test 🎥#PAKvENG | #TestAtHome pic.twitter.com/LzNB8zrcAc
— Pakistan Cricket (@TheRealPCB) October 23, 2024
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When asked a pointed question about how his role with the team had changed, Gillespie quipped that he is getting “splinters in his arse for sitting on the fence.”
“It’s not something for me to talk about now. I’m not a selector, I’m a match-day strategist as head coach. My focus is on the players, I’ll let the selectors do their job. I’m getting splinters in my arse from sitting on the fence here,” he added.
Pakistan vs England third Test update
The third Pakistan vs England Test is likely to see another dry wicket that is likely to favour slower bowlers. The Associated Press reported that the groundsmen at the venue have been trying to dry out the track for the last four days, with the help of industrial-sized fans and outdoor heaters, to fulfil the wish of Pakistan skipper Shan Masood to nullify England’s aggressive batters.
England had won the series opening Test match with an innings after the visitors posted a record-breaking total of 823-7, thanks to Harry Brook scoring a triple century and Joe Root making a career-best 262.
But Pakistan had bounced back in the second test, with left-arm spinner Noman Ali and off-spinner Sajid Khan claiming all 20 England wickets in Multan to level the series at 1-1.
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First uploaded on: 23-10-2024 at 19:23 IST
