'I was completely and utterly blindsided': Frustrated Jason Gillespie slams PCB

NEW DELHI: Former Australia pacer Jason Gillespie resigned from his role as Pakistan's Test head coach, citing a lack of communication and clarity from the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) regarding his position and responsibilities.

Gillespie expressed frustration over being "completely and utterly blindsided" by the PCB's decision to not have a high-performance coach, which led to the departure of Tim Nielsen, who was brought in on Gillespie's recommendation.

"There were certainly challenges. I went into the job eyes wide open, I want to make that really clear. I knew that, you know, Pakistan had cycled through a number of coaches in a pretty short space of time. The straw that broke the camel's back, I suppose, was, as a head coach, you like to have clear communication with your employer," Gillespie told ABC Sport. "I was completely and utterly blindsided by a decision to not have a high-performance coach."



Despite positive feedback on the team's performance and Nielsen's effectiveness, Gillespie felt that the PCB's actions, such as introducing a new selection panel without his involvement and not informing him about team lineups until the day before matches, diminished his role as head coach.

He felt that the lack of communication and transparency from the PCB ultimately led him to question whether they wanted him to continue in the role.

"Tim Nielsen was told that his services were no longer required and I had absolutely zero communication from anyone about that. And I just thought after a number of other things that had gone on in the previous few months, that was probably the moment where I thought, 'Well, I'm not really sure if they actually want me to do this job or not'," he added.



Gillespie acknowledged the challenges of coaching Pakistan, a team that had cycled through several coaches in a short period of time.

"I developed a really close relationship with the Test captain, Shan Masood, and felt we were certainly going in the right direction and things were going really well," he remarked. "All the feedback that I'd got or the feedback the PCB got was just how effective, you know, Tim had been in his role as well and the players were getting a lot out of him."

While Gillespie guided Pakistan to a 2-1 series win against England after losing the first match, the events surrounding Nielsen's departure and the lack of clarity regarding his responsibilities as head coach contributed to his decision to step down, despite his contract being set to expire in 2026.

"I felt I was basically hitting catches and that was about it on the morning of a game," he concluded. "You want to be able to have clear communication with all stakeholders, with selectors, for instance, knowing what the team is as head coach well before the game, or before at least the day before the game."