Australian legend Jason Gillespie opens up on farcical stint, exit as Pakistan coach

Australian Test legend Jason Gillespie has revealed the ‘straw that broke the camel’s back’ that led to the end of his stint as Pakistan coach – and opened up on just how dysfunctional it had become.

Australian Test great Jason Gillespie has opened up on his farcical exit as head coach of Pakistan, revealing how being excluded from selection meetings and ‘blindsided’ by key decisions made his position untenable.

Gillespie endured a troubling eight-month stint with Pakistan, a period which included` a memorable Test series victory over England but ultimately unravelled as the Australian legend was caught in the crossfire of a notoriously combustible cricketing board.

The South Australian quick signed up on a two-year deal with the Pakistan Cricket Board, but last week accepted his position was ‘untenable’ and resigned before the team travelled to South Africa for a T20 international series.

Gillespie described the treatment of good friend, and former Australian head coach, Tim Nielsen and his ultimate axing as Pakistan’s high performance coach was the ‘straw that broke the camel’s back’.

“As a head coach you like to have clear communication with your employer. I was completely and utterly blindsided by (the Tim Nielsen) decision,” Gillespie told ABC Grandstand.

Jason Gillespie claimed to have been shut out of selection meetings as part of the reasons behind his role becoming ‘untenable’ with Pakistan. Picture: Getty

“He was told his services were no longer required and I had absolutely zero communication from anyone about that.

“After a number of other things had gone on in the previous few months, that was the moment I thought ‘I’m not really sure if they actually really want me to do this job or not’.”

Gillespie pointed to the team’s impressive fielding in the Test series win over England as testament to the improved fundamentals under the leadership of himself and Nielsen.

And that, he felt, made it even more galling that Nielsen’s contract was ended without any involvement from Gillespie.

“When the head coach doesn’t get a text message, phone call, email about a decision that’s a pretty big decision… it just left me thinking I’m really not sure if the PCB actually really want me to be part of it,” he explained.

Tim Nielsen has a decorated coaching career, including a stint as head coach of Australia.

As his tenure dragged on, Gillespie became increasingly frustrated with the interference he was experiencing – even at the selection table, from which he was completely excluded.

“In essence, I felt I was basically hitting catches on the morning of a game and that was about it,” the 71-Test veteran added.

“You want to be able to have clear communication with all stakeholders, with selectors for instance, and knowing what the team is as head coach well before the game, or at least a day before the game, so you can help plan and prepare the players… those sort of things prove to be quite difficult.

“That just made things a lot more difficult to be able to do my job effectively.

“Obviously with the news that the board decided to not allow Tim to travel to South Africa… In essence, I felt it made my job untenable.”

Originally published as Australian legend Jason Gillespie opens up on farcical stint, exit as Pakistan coach