Published: Jul 09, 2024, 07:16 PM (IST)
Edited: Jul 09, 2024, 07:16 PM (IST)
In Pakistan’s dismissal of Pakistan from the T20 World Cup, the Pakistan Cricket Board chairman, Moshin Naqvi gave a free hand to head coach Gary Kristen and Jason Gillespie to turn the team for a better future, according to sources. Naqvi met the white-ball and red-ball coaches, where Kristen and Gillespie shared their plans for the national team.
According to PCB, Naqvi told both the coaches that he had full confidence in them and they would get full backing from the cricket board.
“Kristen was blunt in laying down his concerns about the white-ball team based on the World Cup,” said a PCB source.
Both head coaches told the PCB chairman that they wanted to set clear guidelines about the fitness level required to be considered for Pakistan team selection.
“Naqvi told them they should do whatever is necessary to change the fortunes of the team and no one would ask them to make any compromise on selection or the fitness of players,” the source added.
Kristen already had warned the pros following team’s loss to USA and India, to adapt to new skillsets and improve their game awareness, or get left behind.
“The PCB chief said both the coaches had a free hand to take whatever decisions they wanted to improve the performance of the team in red-ball and white-ball formats.”
The source added that while discussing his experience with the Pakistan team during the World Cup, Kristen told Naqvi that there was a need to rebuild combinations in the white-ball format along with changing the mindset of the players.
A few months before the World Cup, when Naqvi approached them and offered long-term contracts, along with the assurance that they would be given opportunities to implement their plans, then only Kristen and Gillespie agreed to become white-ball and red-ball coaches respectively.
