‘This was going to happen…’: Ex-Pakistan coach blames Aaqib Javed, selectors for Champions Trophy debacle

Ex-Pakistan coach blames Aaqib for Champions Trophy exit

Former Pakistan Test coach Jason Gillespie believes that interim head coach Aaqib Javed and the national selectors should take the responsibility for the team’s poor performance in the ICC Champions Trophy.

Hosting a major international tournament after 29 years, Pakistan got eliminated in the group stage following defeats against New Zealand and arch-rivals India. The Men in Green’s clash against Bangladesh was washed out which meant that the hosts finished the group stage with just one point out of 3 matches.

“We saw the results were not good enough. Ultimately, he (Aaqib) has to bear the responsibility. He wanted complete control (of the affairs of the team) and he got it. The national selectors also have a lot of responsibility to take for the squad they picked to play in the tournament,” Gillespie said.

“I always felt there were things going on behind the scenes I was not aware of. And it didn’t surprise me when he (Aaqib) was announced as interim coach. In my opinion it (Aaqib’s appointment) was always on the cards that this was going to happen. You can read into it as you want,” Gillespie added.

Gillespie blamed Aaqib for undermining him and white-ball coach Gary Kirsten. 6-8 months after Kirsten and Gillespie were hired by PCB, the relationship between the foreign coached and the board soured following the appointment of a new selection committee where Aaqib was a senior selector.

“He made it clear he wanted to be chief selector and he made it clear how he wanted the team to go about their work. He wanted complete control and he got it,” Gillespie said.