Gary Kirsten, the newly appointed white-ball head coach of the Pakistan men’s cricket team, faces scrutiny over his credentials even before assuming the role. Set to lead the team ahead of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024, Kirsten’s tenure spans two years, during which he will guide the team through three significant ICC tournaments — two T20 World Cups (2024, 2026) and the ICC Champions Trophy in 2025.
“If you can win one of those three ICC Events, that will be an amazing achievement on its own, whether it’s the upcoming event or it’s two years from now,” Kirsten had said on the PCB Podcast.
However, this statement received criticism from sidelined Pakistan player Ahmed Shehzad.
“Gary Kirsten is a renowned coach but he will be fed information by those who will select the team. He does not have a base in Lahore nor has he grown up in Pakistan to understand the nature of different players,” said Shehzad was Pakistan’s first T20I century-maker.
“At the end of the day, those involved with PCB are the ones who will be guiding him and doing all of this 2 years will have passed by. Already he has made a statement that I did not like. Kirsten said if we do not win the upcoming T20 World Cup then we might do well in the next two,” he said during a conversation with Geo News.
“So already he is keeping himself in a safe position. He must show confidence and these are weak statements. This is not how a winner talks,” added Shehzad, who was a part of the T20 World Cup winning team in 2009.
As Gary Kirsten assumed the role of Pakistan’s new white-ball head coach, former Australian pacer Jason Gillespie was appointed to lead the Test team. Kirsten previously served as the head coach of the Indian team led by MS Dhoni, which secured the ODI World Cup title in 2011.