After former Pakistan red-ball head coach Jason Gillespie claimed that he is still waiting on some remuneration from the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), the cricket body has responded. On his Instagram account, Gillespie posted a story which was related to his interview with Pakistan media, saying that the PCB still had to clear some of his remunerations. Gillespie and South African Gary Kirsten were appointed the red ball and white ball head coaches respectively in April 2024 on two-year contracts by the PCB.
The PCB promised a new era for the Pakistan team but six months down the line both were forced to resign after the Board pulled away much of the authority given to them, including being on the national selection committee. This is the first time either of them have spoken publicly on financial matters with the PCB.
“I am still waiting on some remuneration from the PCB,” read one story while in another he wrote, “Gary Kirsten and I got sold the dream of building a team. Losing a game, and all of a sudden, that gets thrown out of the window.” Incidentally, the PCB invited applications for the positions of national team’s head coach and director of its high performance centre in Lahore on its official website, on Saturday.
The PCB has, however, refuted the claims.
“The Pakistan Cricket Board refutes claims made by a former head coach on the non-payment of his dues,” the PCB declared in its statement.
“The PCB spokesman states that the former head coach abruptly left his position without giving a four-month notice period, which was a clear breach of the contractual terms. The coaching contract explicitly mentioned a notice period applicable to both parties, and the coach was fully aware of it,” it added.
The post of the director has fallen vacant after former Test spinner Nadeem Khan resigned.
Former Test pacer Aaqib Javed has been the interim head coach in all formats since the resignations of first Kirsten and then Gillespie last year.
A reliable source said that Aaqib had shown his preference to take over as Director of the High Performance Centre and didn’t want to continue as head coach.
The PCB has set May 5 as the deadline for interested candidates to apply for the head coach position.
“Indications are that the PCB is this time tilted towards looking for a low-profile foreign coach,” the source said.
With PTI inputs
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