Aaqib or Saqlain? New Pakistan coach hunt begins

Current senior selector Aaqib Javed and former spinner Saqlain Mushtaq are in fray to replace Gary Kirsten as Pakistan's new white ball coach after the former Proteas batter stepped down due to his differences with country's cricket board.

The PCB, on Monday, officially confirmed that Kirsten had resigned and as an interim arrangement it has asked the red ball coach, Jason Gillispie to manage the team for the white ball series in Australia from November 4. But Gillespie has intimated that he would look at it as a one-off arrangement.

"The problem is both Kirsten and Gillispie were not happy with their sudden demotion in powers with the selectors given powers to call all the shots," one source said.

He said since Gillispie was in the middle of the England series he reluctantly accepted the changes but has publicly made it clear he is no happy at not being involved in the selection process.

"The situation now is that the PCB has to appoint a new white ball coach given the number of white ball commitments of the national team coming up and leading up to the Champions Trophy early next year," the source said.

"One option is to let assistant coach Azhar Mahmood continue as interim head coach but Aaqib or Saqlain could also land the job."

Saqlain has remained head coach of the Pakistan team before but was replaced by Mickey Arthur early last year when Najam Sethi was in power in the board.

The source did say they are some other candidates under consideration and the board chairman, Mohsin Naqvi would soon have talks with shortlisted candidates.

The PCB has made no official comment on why Kirsten resigned nor has the former South African player said anything but board insiders say the dispute arose over several issues between Kirsten and the PCB.

"Look we had high hopes from Kirsten when we entered into a two-year contract with him. The idea was he could help the PCB to revolutionize the white ball team," one source aware of the happenings said.

He said the PCB got the feeling that Kirsten never seemed fully committed to his job.

"He did not have a single camp in Pakistan for any of the white ball teams. He was not present at the white ball camps of the Shaheens throughout the summer. And it all culminated with him missing the majority of the Champions Cup."

Another complaint against Kirsten is that although his contract stated clearly he would just take 30 days vacation in a year, he didn't even spend 30 days in Pakistan after joining.

The PCB was also put off with Kirsten's insistence on having more foreign coaches on his team and the dispute between them blew up once the board decided to strip the coaches of selection powers.

The PCB had also sidelined and pushed foreign coaches, Mickey Arthur, Grant Bradburn etc to resign after last year's WC.

PCB to send national selectors on Australia and Zimbabwe white-ball tours

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has decided to send a national selector each to Australia and Zimbabwe for the white ball series and he will have the final say in the team selection matters.

The PCB will be selector Asad Shafiq to Australia while former skipper Azhar Ali will be travelling to Zimbabwe.

Until recently, the PCB had a policy where the national selectors picked the touring squad, whereas the playing XI was finalised on tours by the skipper, coach and vice-captain.

Following the crushing defeat to England during the Multan Test this month, the PCB changed its policy, revamping the selection committee and bringing in Aaqib Javed, Azhar Ali and Aleem Dar as the new selectors, joining Asad Shafiq and Hasan Cheema.

Now, the five-member section committee possess complete powers to not only select touring squads but also the playing XI for every fixture, with the captain and head coach no longer part of the committee and the selectors are not duti-bound to consult them.

"That is why the board will send Asad to Australia so that he will be with the team for all the matches and will have the final say in selection matters after consulting his fellow selectors in Pakistan," a source stated, adding that Azhar Ali will do a similar job in Zimbabwe.

The selectors announced their ODI and T20I squads for both tours where Pakistan plays six ODIs and T20Is each from November 4.

The limited-overs team head coach Gary Kirsten resigned on Monday, unwilling to accept having no role in selection matters. He has since been replaced on interim basis by its Test head coach Jason Gillespie.