Gary Kirsten to coach white-ball, Jason Gillespie red-ball as Pakistan set to announce teams

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Islamabad, April 6 (IANS) Gary Kirsten, the former star batsman of South Africa, and former Australian pacer Jason Gillespie have been finalised as head coaches for the white-ball and the red-ball cricket respectively of the Pakistan men's senior cricket teams. The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has finally got its head coaches and an announcement of which would be made in the coming days.

As per details, Kirsten is going to take over the coaching responsibilities of the white-ball team, which includes the One-day Internationals (ODI) and T20 Internationals (T20I). Gillespie, the former Australian fast bowler, is expected to take over the responsibility of coaching the Test team.

While the announcement of the selection of both coaches is still due; it has been decided that coaching roles would be exclusively assigned to coaches who are available locally. This would be done specifically for the upcoming five-match T20I series against New Zealand.

Sources in the PCB said that former Pakistani star batsman Mohammad Yousuf is expected to take the role of head coach for the home series. Former all-rounder Abdul Razzaq is expected to be the assistant coach for the series.

However, all the above-mentioned is pending approval from the Chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Mohsin Naqvi. However, it seems clear that PCB is working out a strategy to bring about significant change in leadership ahead of the potential appointment of Kirsten and Gillespie.

“PCB intends to allocate specific coaching roles to Kirsten and Gillespie, focusing on the different formats of the game”, said a source in the PCB.

Moreover, the PCB has also started the process of appointing assistant coaches.

It is pertinent to mention here that while the PCB is hunting for suitable foreign coaches; the Pakistan cricket team has been in Kakul at the Pakistan Military Academy (PMA) in Abbottabad for its fitness training. The Pakistan team players are going through rigorous training to improve their fitness, skills and stamina.

Among other players like Muhammad Rizwan and Mohammad Shadab, who are showing great skills and fitness during the Kakul camp, there is a player who has been struggling to see through the track every time.

Azam Khan, son of former Pakistan wicketkeeper Moin Khan, known for his hard-hitting as a batsman, has been finding it almost impossible to complete tracks and courses during the training in Abbottabad. In a viral video on social media, Azam Khan can be seen struggling to climb up a mountain and his team players giving him all the motivation to keep going and not stop.

The reports of players from the fitness camp in Kakul, Abbottabad hold great importance, as performance in the camp would decide on the selection of the squad for the upcoming series against New Zealand.

Sources also claimed that Kirsten’s potential appointment as head coach is reportedly in the final stages of negotiations, pending his availability after the Indian Premier League (IPL). Kirsten is currently the coach of the Lucknow Super Giants in IPL while Gillespie was till recently coaching a county team.

--IANS

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