"Leave running Cricket"- Jason Gillespie to PCB after Pakistan's Champions Trophy exit

Jason Gillespie was appointed Pakistan's head coach in Test cricket on April 2024. However, his tenure didn't go as expected and he gave up on the role just eight months after his appointment.

It was not the kind of ending that Jason Gillespie expected at the start, but he was forced to resign after some of the decisions didn't go his way and his powers were cut down by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB).

Gillespie has finally broken his silence on the functioning of Pakistan cricket after the team's disappointing performances recently. He also shed light on Pakistan's old rivalry with India.

Also read: "Pakistan can beat India..."- Jason Gillespie counter attacks Sunil Gavaskar's India B Team theory

Jason Gillespie slams PCB for decline of Pakistan cricket

During an interview with TOI, Jason Gillespie was asked about the things that have gone wrong with Pakistan cricket which has brought the team to this level. In the last three years, the PCB have had 26 different selectors, four captains, and eight coaches, which shows that they haven't stuck to a particular plan.

"This is a crazy number, isn't it? There's too much short-term thinking at the Pakistan board level. There is a fear of failure amongst players because changes are made at board level on players, coaches, and selectors constantly," Gillespie replied.

"There is no consistency. The Pakistan Cricket Board needs to leave the running of the cricket side of things to people that know cricket," the former Pakistan head coach added.

The constant chopping and changing has been a huge concern in Pakistan cricket. The management and the coaching staff are constantly changed, which also creates a fear of failure among the players.

Jason Gillespie on India-Pakistan rivalry

When asked about the rivalry of India and Pakistan, Jason Gillespie hailed the talent pool in Pakistan cricket. He feels that the rivalry between the two nations will not go away and will remain the same.

"The rivalry will never fade. Pakistan has a deep pool of fantastic cricketers. They just need a platform to shine," the former Australia quick added.

The difference between the Indian and the Pakistani teams has increased over the years. While India have kept on improving by making the most of their talent depth, Pakistan cricket has gone down as they have been unable to cope with modern-day cricket.

India have consistently done well in ICC tournaments with some high-skilled players in every department. On the other hand, Pakistan have struggled to perform well against bigger teams in high-profile tournaments.

Jason Gillespie's tenure as Pakistan coach

With Gillespie as the head coach, Pakistan lost a home Test series to Bangladesh 0-2 in an embarrassing way. However, the team bounced back strongly with a comeback 2-1 series over England at home.

He resigned as the team's head coach before Pakistan's Test series in South Africa as he felt that he didn't have enough power to make a difference. Gillespie was also believed to be disappointed by the sacking of Pakistan's assistant coach, Tim Nielsen.

Gillespie also served as Pakistan's interim head coach for the ODI and the T20I series in Australia. Pakistan won the ODI series 2-1 but lost the T20I series later.