PAK vs ENG: "Babar Azam is just 1 of a whole group of players.."- Gary Kirsten

New Pakistan head coach Gary Kirsten has revealed his plans to help reduce the pressure that surmounts over the head of skipper Babar Azam. 

Gary Kirsten was appointed as Pakistan's new white-ball head coach along with red-ball head coach Jason Gillespie last month by the PCB. Their appointments came months after the Pakistan Cricket Board's hunt for a new coach which saw them also approach Shane Watson and Darren Sammy.

Kirsten will take over his new coaching assignment later this month after fulfilling his IPL 2024 duties. 

The South African, who is very famous in the Indian cricketing fraternity, will have his aim set at helping Pakistan win the ICC T20 World Cup 2024. If not, then making the Green Army a formidable force again in the shorter formats will be one of the main agendas. Both Gary Kirsten and Jason Gillespie have signed a 3-year deal, possibly until the 2027 50-over World Cup. 

What is Gary Kirsten's plan to relieve the pressure on Babar Azam?

While speaking to TalkSport Cricket exclusively, Gary Kirsten had bright words for Pakistani captain Babar Azam. Kirsten started by revealing that he has spoken a few times with Babar since his appointment was made official by the PCB. As an outsider, Kirsten hailed Babar for what he has done as a professional cricketer and for his country.

Gary Kirsten highlighted that he knows exactly how much pressure there is on Babar Azam to perform and score runs in every single match. The South African disclosed that one of his main motives as the new Pakistan head coach will be to ease some of that pressure from Babar. 

Kirsten admitted that one of his main principles will be to make Babar Azam and the other players realize that the latter is a part of the group. That freeing him up and putting the pressure down will be his priority and it will help the white-ball captain play his natural game without stressing himself.  

"I have been in touch with Babar. He has done remarkably well as a cricketer and sort of carries a lot of the weight of that team on his shoulders. What we would try to do as a coaching staff is to lift that a little bit and to realize he's just one of a whole group of players and then he can just free himself up to play with his natural talent." - Gary Kirsten said via TalkSport Cricket. 

Kirsten says he is looking forward to developing a good relationship with Babar

Gary Kirsten then expressed his eagerness to build a great captain and head coach relationship between himself and Babar Azam. He also explained just how important it would be for him to get all the players together to contribute to the team's success. Kirsten is mainly aiming to help Pakistan become a force in the shortest format of the game. 

With Kirsten set to take over as Men in Green's new head coach, there's optimism that he will be the one who can bring the glory days back to the country.