Former Australian pacer Jason Gillespie has resigned as coach of the men’s national team after the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) refused to accept his demands, including a pay rise, sources said on Friday.
Gillespie, according to a statement released by the PCB on Thursday, resigned from his position for personal reasons.
However, sources claimed that the former cricketer took the decision due to his frustrations with the PCB, prompted by the cricket board’s decision to exclude him from the selection committee.
Sources further shared that Gillespie expressed his desire to take up the role of head coach for both the red-ball and white-ball formats, but the PCB turned down his request.
Gillespie also demanded a salary hike, which was denied by PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi, sources added.
To add to the complexity, the PCB demanded that Gillespie spend more time in Pakistan, but he was unwilling to accept the condition.
These concerns mirrored those raised by former white-ball coach Gary Kirsten, who also refused to remain in the country during the team’s active missions.
Furthermore, both Gillespie and Kirsten demanded that the PCB include their preferred support staff, which the board allegedly failed to comply with.
Jason Gillespie had earlier threatened the PCB to resign if his demands were not met before he finally stepped down just days before the start of the national men’s team’s two-match away Test series against South Africa.
After his resignation, PCB announced Aqib Javed as the interim coach of the red ball team as well.
Sohail Imran is a senior reporter at Geo News.
