Gary Kirsten becomes latest victim of Pakan cricket’s constant churn, crisis | Cricket News

Not allowed to revel too long in the remarkable turnaround Test series win over England – their first in four years – Pakan cricket announced its latest stream of changes on Monday.
A new-white ball captain – wicketkeeper Mohammad Rizwan – was announced ahead of the start of the ODI series in Australia next week in a press conference in Lahore, flanked his new vice-captain Salman Agha, Pakan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman Mohsin Naqvi, and member of the selection committee Aaqib Javed. Missing from the scene, and from the country, was their white-ball coach Gary Kirsten, who, as it was later revealed, has now resigned from his duties.
Kirsten departs from his role six months after signing a two-year contract. The South African’s exit highlights the constant cycle of change that this team have been under since the departure of board chairman Ahsan Mani in August 2021.
Kirsten was the eighth different man in that time that could call himself coach of the Pakan men’s cricket team, the latest in a split between white-ball and red-ball duties, the latter of which are presently under Jason Gillespie, who will be the interim white-ball coach for the Australia tour.
In that time, they have seen churn at the very top too. There have been four different chairmans of the board – Ramiz Raja, Najam Sethi, Zaka Ashraf, and Naqvi – each of whom have had to deal with tumultuous times and politicking in their reign.
Selection has been equally inconsent: there have been six different chief selectors and 28 different members that have picked teams for the men’s side. It is no surprise, then, that strategies, team composition, and even the captains are constantly changing.
Babar Azam had been the all-format captain until not too long ago, but then was replaced Shaheen Shah Afridi in the white-ball format, and Shan Masood in the red-ball format. Babar returned as white-ball captain for the 2024 T20 World Cup, and now has been replaced Rizwan.
It comes as no surprise, then, that Kirsten is the latest to go through the revolving door of the Pakan Cricket Board’s set of decision-makers.