Gary Kirsten, the former South African cricketer and the coach who led the team to World Cup victory in 2011, has discussed the key factors behind his short time with the Pakistan national team. He took on the white-ball coaching role in April 2024, but resigned after only six months, pointing to a lack of influence over significant decisions as the primary reason.
Kirsten admitted that he quickly understood that he would be unable to have the impact he was aiming for. Despite an initial positive outlook, it became clear that his position would not come with the independence or support needed to make meaningful changes within Pakistan’s white-ball structure.
His departure followed the resignation of then Pakistan Test team head coach Jason Gillespie. Gillespie, who had been in charge during Pakistan’s historic ODI series victory in Australia, also left due to similar frustrations within the system.
Kirsten, who also served as batting coach for the Gujarat Titans in the Indian Premier League (IPL), hasn’t ruled out a return to Pakistan cricket. He indicated he would consider resuming a coaching role, provided the circumstances allowed him to fulfill his responsibilities effectively and without external pressures.
Despite his short tenure, Kirsten’s reputation remains high within the coaching world. His experiences highlight the ongoing issues surrounding the management and organization of the Pakistan team.
“It was a tumultuous few months. I realised quite quickly I wasn’t going to have much of an influence. Once I was taken off selection and asked to take a team and not be able to shape the team, it became very difficult as a coach then to have any sort of positive influence on the group,” Kirsten said on the Wisden Podcast.
“If I got invited back to Pakistan tomorrow, I would go, but I would want to go for the players, and I would want to go under the right circumstances. Cricket teams need to be run by cricket people. When that’s not happening and when there’s a lot of noise from the outside that’s very influential noise, it’s very difficult for leaders within the team to walk a journey that you feel like you need to walk in order to take this team to where it needs to go.”
“I’m too old now to be dealing with other agendas; I just want to coach a cricket team and work with the players – I love the Pakistan players; they’re great guys. I had a very short period of time with them, and I feel for them. More than any other team in the world, they feel the pressure of performance massively; when they lose, it’s hectic for them, and they feel that.”
“But they’re professional cricketers, and I’m a professional cricket coach. When we get into that environment, there are generally certain things you do to help a team be the best that they can be, and when there’s no interference, you go down the road, and if it’s a talented group of guys, you’re generally going to have success,” he concluded.