Too Old To Deal With Agendas: Gary Kirsten Blames Outside Influence For Leaving Pakistan Coaching Job

Pakistan men’s cricket has been going through a tumultuous period since the last two years and half and the controversial ouster of coaches Gary Kirsten and Jason Gillespie has been at the center of it. 

Kirsten, who was appointed as the white ball coach in April 2024, became active in Pakistan domestic cricket as well and spent a lot of time there trying to find the right players to fill the holes that existed in the side. However, outside influences made it hard for him to continue doing his job, as selection privileges were unlikely to come to him despite being the head coach. 

“I’m too old now to be dealing with other agendas, I just want to coach a cricket team, work with the players – I love the Pakistan players, they’re great guys,” Kirsten said, as quoted by Wisden.

“I had a very short period of time with them and I feel for them. More than any other team in the world, they feel the pressure of performance massively, when they lose it’s hectic for them and they feel that. 

“But they’re professional cricketers and I’m a professional cricket coach. When we get into that environment, there are generally certain things you do to help a team be the best that they can be, and when there’s no interference, you go down the road, and if it’s a talented group of guys, you’re generally going to have success.”

The South Africa-based coach who won the 2011 ODI World Cup with India added that he understood very early that he would not have much influence in the side. That was hindering his efforts to openly work with players, and there was an environment of distrust in the system. He also added that cricket needs to be run by people who have been in the cricketing ecosystem and not outsiders.

“It was a tumultuous few months,” Kirsten said. 

“I realised quite quickly I wasn’t going to have much of an influence. Once I was taken off selection and asked to take a team and not be able to shape the team, it became very difficult as a coach then to have any sort of positive influence on the group.

“Cricket teams need to be run by cricket people. When that’s not happening and when there’s a lot of noise from the outside that’s very influential noise, it’s very difficult for leaders within the team to walk a journey that you feel like you need to walk in order to take this team to where it needs to go.”