Gary Kirsten‘s exit as Pakistan‘s white-ball coach in just six months since his appointment has hurt the team’s preparation ahead of the ICC Champions Trophy, which the country is set to host in February-March next year.
Rubbing salt to those wounds, an old post on ‘X’ by former India spinner Harbhajan Singh has resurfaced and gone viral.
Earlier this year in June, after Kirsten’s relations with the players and the Pakistan Cricket Board started getting sour, Harbhajan had posted urging the former South African batsman to return to India and coach the team once again.
Kirsten famously coached the MS Dhoni-led Indian team during the triumphant 2011 ODI World Cup campaign.
“Don’t waste ur time there Gary,” Harbhajan had written while re-posting a Pakistan journalist on ‘X’. “Come back to Coach Team INDIA…Gary Kirsten one of the rare (gem symbol)…A Great Coach, mentor, honest and very dear friend to all in our 2011 Team…our winning coach of 2011 World Cup. Special man, Gary.”
The Pakistan team is already in Australia for their white-ball tour.
Jason Gillespie, who is the Test team’s coach, has been asked by the PCB to do white-ball duty as well for the tour, with Kirsten no longer with the team.
Pakistan will play three ODIs and three T20Is under their new white-ball captain, Mohammad Rizwan.