Pakistan head coach Jason Gillespie has expressed his frustrations over not being involved in the selection process and says it is not what he signed up for.
Pakistan have had 26 different selectors over the last three years, as the once-great cricketing nation desperately looks to return to its winning ways.
The hosts levelled the three-match Test series against England with a convincing 152-run win in Multan, on a pitch that had already been used for the series opener, a game in which the tourists triumphed by an innings after scoring 823.
On day one of the third Test, the flat Rawalpindi pitch provided assistance to the bowlers as England were bowled out for 267, with their spinners claiming all 10 wickets and Sajid Khan (6-128) finishing with a six-wicket haul to his name.
“No, I’m not (a selector). It wasn’t what I signed up for, I’ll be honest, but this is one of those situations where you just need to go with the flow,” said Gillespie on Sky Sports Cricket.
“I’m in a different environment and things are done differently. One can agree or disagree with how things are done.
“Ultimately, I’m here to help the Pakistan team do better and improve and so I put my focus and energy into that.
“We want to win more cricket games, that’s a given.
“The long-term plan is to create squad depth so we’re not relying on a small number of players to do the bulk of the work, we want to develop a bigger squad base.
“When I came on board, we wanted to develop the biggest pace bowling squad and certainly want to improve and get depth in all facets of the game, that will be an evolving process.”
Pakistan opted for seven spin options in total during their Multan victory and named an unchanged side for the series decider in Rawalpindi.
It was a decision which ultimately paid off in Pakistan’s favour, with spinners Noman Ali and Sajid accounting for all 20 wickets in the game as they squared the series, but head coach Gillespie had no say in the selection of the spin-heavy attack.
“I’m not involved in any of that. The PCB have made changes and brought selectors in to choose the teams,” Gillespie added.
“It’s been made clear to me that my role is match day training and strategy so I put my energy into that.
“What happens with surfaces and selection is out of my control so I’m moving away from that and I’m focusing on the players and helping them.”
When Pakistan lost the first Test in Multan by an innings and 47 runs, they made drastic changes to their line-up, dropping their superstar Babar Azam who has been on a lean run of form along with pace bowling duo Shaheen Shah Afridi and Naseem Shah.
Babar made disappointing scores of 30 and five during his outing in the first Test whilst Afridi finished on figures of 1-120 and Naseem on 2-157, which eventually led to them being side-lined.
When Gillespie was asked about the future of Babar in the Pakistan Test side by Sky Sports’ Ian Ward, he simply replied: “I cannot answer that because I’m not a selector.”
However, the former Australian cricketer is adamant the former Test captain is going to return to form.
“Babar is a fine player, I think he’s one of the best players in the world.
“He’s had a bit of a lean patch but I don’t think there’s many great players around who have never had a lean patch.
“I’m very confident that Babar will be back scoring many runs for Pakistan in all formats. He’s just too good a player and I fully expect him to have a huge role for Pakistan going forward.”
First Test: Multan – October 7-11 – England won by an innings and 47 runs
Second Test: Multan – October 15-19 – Pakistan won by 152 runs
Third Test: Rawalpindi – October 24-28
Watch day two of the third and final Test between Pakistan and England live on Sky Sports Cricket and Main Event from 5.50am ahead of the first ball at 6am on Friday, October 25 as the sides head to Rawalpindi.
