Gillespie quits, Aaqib Javed to replace as red-ball coach

LAHORE: Jason Gillespie resigned as head coach of Pakistan’s red-ball team on Friday, following Time Nielson’s departure from the team on Thursday.

Gillespie has been the red-ball head coach since signing a two-year contract in April of this year, but since joining the team, his relationship with the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has been full of strife. Tensions between him and the PCB reached a boiling point when the former head coach refused to board his 6AM Adelaide time flight on Friday. With less than two weeks left before Pakistan compete against South Africa in their two match test series, the men in green will have to deal with a major change in coaching staff, as Aaqib Javed takes over Gillespie’s job.

Earlier, sources revealed that Gillespie was upset with the PCB for not informing him of their decision to not renew Tim Nielson’s, the red-ball high performance coach, contract. Gillespie has previously stated that Nielson had a great relationship with the players.

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But that wasn’t the first quarrel between the former coach and the PCB. In October, Gillespie expressed his discontent with the PCB’s decision to remove coaches and captains from the selection committee. The committee is now made up of five members, including Javed, Aleem Dar, Azhar Ali, Asad Shafiq, and Hassan Cheema. That change resulted in the departure of former white-ball, Gary Kirsten, who was replaced by Gillespie for the series against Australia, before Javed was instated as the interim white ball coach.

By quitting, Gillespie may be leaving some money on the table, as ESPNcricinfo reported earlier that a resignation would result in a much lower pay-out for the former head coach than if he had been sacked.

According to media reports. the PCB is favouring local staff over overseas coaches, a move that is exemplified by Javed’s appointment as the all-format coach.

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