Jason Gillespie is revealing quite a few things now that he’s stepped down as the Pakistan cricket team’s head coach for Test cricket. The former Australian pacer had joined as red-ball coach on April 28 on a 2-year deal, but following a falling out with the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), Gillespie resigned on December 12, in less than 8 months.
Under his tenure, Pakistan finally won a home Test series after more than 3 years. But perhaps what he’ll be most remembered by was the dropping of Babar Azam from Pakistan’s Test side. Struggling to make runs for over 18 months, the former Pakistan captain was dropped after 1st Test of the England vs Pakistan series.
The cricket community was divided. Some lauded PCB while others criticised them. Gillespie, who was the head coach, received positive and negative feedback. However, the Aussie said that he had no say in Babar Azam’s dropping.
“The decision was made by the selectors (to drop Babar Azam), I had been removed from that process, and the decision was made to not play him (against England),” Gillespie told ABC Sports.
Going from a rough patch, many believed that Babar should be backed, but he was dropped. While Gillespie didn’t spell it out, it seemed like he wasn’t ready to drop him, but since the advice wasn’t asked, there was nothing he could do. He lauded the star batter for his dedication and called him an elite player.
“Babar is a very driven individual. He works so hard on his game; he’s an elite player. A fantastic player, one of the best players I’ve been fortunate enough to work with,” Gillespie added.
Babar Azam’s Test record since 2023
| Matches | Runs | Average | Highest Score | 100s | 50s |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9 | 352 | 20.70 | 41 | 0 | 0 |
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