Pakistan Cricket News: Was Rizwan The Main Reason Behind Gary Kirsten's Hasty Resignation?
South African great, Gary Kirsten
On Saturday, Shan Masood-led Pakistan cricket team defeated England and won the Test series. Celebrations began as a Babar Azam, Shaheen Afridi, and Naseem Shah-less team clinched their first series victory at home after three whole years.
Gary Kirsten Resigns As Pakistan's Head Coach
However, big news from Pakistan cricket left everyone confused as South African legend and the head coach of their national team, Gary Kirsten, announced his resignation from the role. While these were reports earlier, as the day proceeded, the Pakistan Cricket Board confirmed that Kirsten has officially resigned.
PCB appointed Kirsten in April 2024 for two years. However, things did not go as planned for Pakistan as they crashed out of the T20 World Cup 2024 group stage, the first time in the history of the tournament.
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Rizwan's Appointment As Captain Was Not What Kirsten Wanted
Weighing in, Pakistan's former cricketer Basit Ali has shared his two cents on the entire matter and has claimed that the recent appointment of Mohammad Rizwan as the white-ball captain, did not sit right with their coach, Gary Kirsten and that the 56-year-old left the position because he raised his voice about something that was not going right. Moreover, he also lashed out at PCB's chairman, Mohsin Naqvi stating that he has a lot of power.
On his YouTube channel, Basit said, "Mohsin Naqvi has come with a lot of power. The coaches, selectors and managers are being removed. Earlier, the chairman used to be changed from time to time. Now, whoever raises their voice will be sidelined."
"The story started when Mohammad Rizwan was named Pakistan's new white-ball captain. Kirsten wanted a different captain and demanded another player in the team. Coincidently, both of them are not in the team. He was thinking that maybe he could have full authority. However, he doesn't know that in Pakistan, even the PCB chairman can get changed overnight," he added.
While there is no official confirmation about the truth in these claims, however, in the past few months there have been numerous videos from the field suggesting that all is not calm and bright in the Pakistan team. From rifts between Shaheen-Babar, to group-ism reports, there has been a massive unrest in the team.
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The entire cricketing and management in Pakistan can be described as uncertain and unbalanced, especially concerning the changes they make. Before Rizwan took over the captaincy reigns, Babar Azam and Shaheen Afridi were between whom the leadership role was tossed.
Mohd. Rizwan- Jason Gillespie Duo To Lead The Aussie Challenge
Meanwhile, Rizwan will captain Pakistan in three ODIs and three T20Is against Australia from November 4 to 18. The right-handed batter and wicket-keeper will also lead Pakistan in three ODIs against Zimbabwe. While, Salman Agha will lead the team for T20Is from November 24 to December 5.
At the same time, PCB also announced that Jason Gillespie as the white-ball head coach for the Australia tour after Gary Kirsten's resignation.
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