Babar Azam's role in Gary Kirsten's shocking resignation exposed

Pakistan National Cricket Team was jolted with a massive blow after Gary Kirsten, on Monday (28th October), stepped down as the head coach of the team. This came 6 months after being appointed in the role and his resignation was immediately accepted by the Pakistan Cricket Board.

Gary Kirsten, who was actively involved in Pakistan Cricket, was named as the coach of Pakistan's team in limited-overs cricket. But his stint didn't last long and now Jason Gillespie, who was appointed as the red-ball coach, will be taking over the role in white-ball cricket on an interim basis.

Babar Azam was the key reason behind Gary Kirsten's decision to resign from the head coach role

But in a shocking turn of events, as per the report by Cricket Pakistan, it is learned that Babar Azam was the key reason behind Gary Kirsten's decision to resign from the head coach role. This is because there was a disagreement between him and the Pakistan Cricket Board over the batter's availability.

As per the reports, it is learned that Gary Kirsten and Jason Gillespie weren't impressed with the decision to rest Babar Azam for the Zimbabwe ODIs and T20Is. The coaches wanted the batter to play the series to get used to the conditions for the Test series against South Africa, which will be played later on.

The selection committee and Gary Kirsten had differences due to the squads for Australia and Zimbabwe

It is also learned that Gary Kirsten also had extensive planning for the Champions ODI Cup and also had worked on a lot of things with the players for tours of Australia and Zimbabwe. However, there were differences with the selection committee that caused major changes to the squad from what he recommended.

The issues between coaches and the Pakistan Cricket Board started after the first Test against the England National Cricket Team. PCB revamped the selection committee with Aaqib Javed, Aleen Dar, and Azhar Ali being inducted while voting power was taken away from the coach and captain.

When Gary Kirsten was appointed as the head coach of the team he was promised significant authority while being appointed. However, the change in power didn't go well with the head coach of the team. He hasn't coached the team in an ODI game since his appointment in the job as the team had no ODIs scheduled after the ICC World Cup 2023.

Saqlain Mushtaq likely to replace Gary Kirsten

With Kirsten being ruled out, it is learned that former Pakistan National Cricket Team spinner Saqlain Mushtaq has emerged as a strong candidate to take over the role. The reports claimed that new captain Mohammad Rizwan has also expressed his support for him to take over the job, and the skipper could play a huge role in that.

Pakistan Cricket Board Chairman Mohsin Naqvi will make the final decision on the appointment of a permanent white-ball team coach after consulting with all key stakeholders. It remains to be seen who will take over the role in the team.