Pakistan officials rejected a report that Jason Gillespie was set to be axed from his Test coaching role, but then made their first move against the former Australian quick by announcing he would be replaced as white-ball head coach.
Making the development particularly bizarre was the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) announced Gillespie had been dumped as white-ball head coach during Pakistan’s T20 against Australia in Hobart on Monday.
Pakistan officials had made it clear they wanted one man to be an all-format head coach by offering Gillespie the white-ball role on a full-time basis.
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The 49-year-old had taken on white-ball duties on an interim basis following the resignation of Gary Kirsten late last month, but he turned down the offer of coaching the limited-overs sides full-time because Pakistan did not offer to increase his remuneration for the extra responsibilities.
The PCB announced during Monday’s T20, which Australia won by seven wickets, that former Pakistan quick Aqib Javed was the new white-ball head coach, albeit on an interim basis.
Aussie cricket great and now Pakistan coach Jason Gillespie. Getty
It therefore appears increasingly likely that Gillespie’s days as Test head coach are numbered and that the PCB is on the verge of finding an all-format head coach.
Gillespie is contracted as Test coach until the end of 2026, but in a statement posted to X on Monday (AEDT), the PCB only guaranteed his future as Test coach for the two-match series against South Africa, taking place in South Africa across December and January.
In response to an ESPNCricinfo report posted to X on Monday (AEDT), the official PCB X account wrote: “PCB strongly refutes the story. As announced previously, Jason Gillespie will continue to coach the Pakistan side for the two red-ball matches against South Africa”.
Gillespie coached Pakistan to a 2-1 series victory over Australia in this month’s one-day series Down Under.
Prior to Pakistan’s tour of Australia, Gillespie’s Test side had defeated England 2-1 in Pakistan.
