Jason Gillespie gives his first interview after resigning, says he didn’t feel valued as a coach (Cricket Australia)
In his first interview after stepping down as the Test coach of Pakistan, Jason Gillespie said the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) did not want him as a coach. He cited a lack of communication with the board and the sacking of high-performance coach Tim Nielsen as the reasons for his resignation.
“The straw that broke the camel’s back, I suppose, was, as a head coach, you like to have clear communication with your employer.
“Tim Nielsen was told that his services were no longer required and I had absolutely zero communication from anyone about that, and I just thought after a number of other things that had gone on in the previous few months, that was probably the moment where I thought, ‘Well, I’m not really sure if they actually really want me to do this job or not.’”
What irritated Gillespie the most was that both him and Tim Nielsen received positive feedback from the PCB, and felt that they were moving in the right direction. He was getting along well with Test captain Shan Masood as well as they developed a strong coach-player relation.
“All the feedback that I’d got or the feedback the PCB got was just how effective, you know, Tim had been in his role as well and the players were getting a lot out of him.”
The former Australian bowler became Pakistan’s coach for Tests in April, and even guided the side to a 2-1 win against England in October, after losing the first match by an innings and 47 runs. But after the loss, Gillespie mentioned that the text group he was part of put up a message that there would be a new selection panel, which the coach was not a part of.
He felt his role as a coach kept reducing, as he would receive communication about the players of the squad just a day before the match.
“You want to be able to have clear communication with all stakeholders, with selectors, for instance, knowing what the team is as head coach well before the game, or before at least the day before the game.”
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