Pakistan Warned Of International 'Backlash' After Kirsten's Resignation

Former Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chief Ramiz Raja on Tuesday reacted to Gary Kirsten's departure as white-ball head coach and said that it will be tough for Pakistan to hire international talent. In the last few days, Pakistan cricket has experienced considerable upheaval - from Rizwan's appointment as white-ball skipper and Kirsten's resignation as T20I and ODI coach to the subsequent appointment of Jason Gillespie as all-format head coach. Speaking to the reporters, Ramiz said that PCB has faced a lot of backlash from Gary Kirsten's resignation.

"When you search for international coaches, with the kind of backlash that you will probably get from Gary Kirsten's resignation... it's not going to be an easy, straightforward job for Pakistan to hire international talent," Raja was quoted by ESPNcricinfo as saying.

He added that one has to give clarity about the job role given to the international coaches.

"What you need to do is to make sure that once you involve and engage somebody, you've got to give them clarity regarding the role. I don't know whether that clarity was given to Gary Kirsten on how he wanted to get Pakistan into this one-day phase or what he wanted to achieve. I'm not privy to that," he added.

The former PCB chief added that Kirsten's departure was not a good thing for Pakistan since they needed an experienced hand.

"It's not great news [Kirsten's departure] because Pakistan needed an experienced hand. From a distance, it doesn't look great just before a tour," he further added.

Rizwan succeeded Babar Azam as Pakistan's white-ball skipper on Sunday when the PCB announced squads for the Australia and Zimbabwe series.

The experienced wicketkeeper will now lead the side in white-ball cricket, with Salam Ali Agha named his deputy for the upcoming away tours.

Within 24 hours of Rizwan's appointment, the PCB confirmed Kirsten's resignation, marking the end of his six-month tenure without having managed Pakistan in a single ODI match--a format in which he holds significant expertise.

Kirsten's main assignment had been the ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2024 in the West Indies and USA, where Pakistan faced an early exit in the group stage after losses to India and the USA.