New Delhi, March 21 (IANS) Former Pakistan head coach Gary Kirsten has opened up about his short stint as head coach of Pakistan’s limited-overs teams, revealing that extensive involvement from the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) played a major role in his early exit.

Kirsten, who was appointed in April 2024 on a two-year contract, stepped down from his role as ODI and T20I coach after just six months, departing only days before Pakistan’s scheduled ODI tour of Australia.

Kirsten said the extent of external influence on team affairs was unlike anything he had experienced before.

“The thing that surprised me more than anything was the level of interference. I don’t think I have ever seen it at that level before. Did it surprise me? I don’t know, but it was significant,” Kirsten told talkSPORT Cricket.

Following his resignation, the PCB handed interim charge of the white-ball side to Test coach Jason Gillespie for the Australia tour, which included six limited-overs matches. However, Gillespie also stepped away from his role a few months later.

Kirsten explained that the constant external pressure made it difficult to establish a stable working environment with the players.

“It is quite difficult for a coach to come and formulate a way that you can work with the players when there is just this constant noise from the outside. It was tough, just this constant noise from the outside and a lot of punitive actions around poor performance and stuff like that,” he said.

He further noted that coaches often become easy targets when results do not go a team’s way.

“As a coach, you are the lowest hanging fruit when the team isn’t going well, so let us get rid of the coach or let us put a restriction on the coach because that is the easiest thing to do when the teams are performing, and that is kind of counterproductive in my view,” he added.

Gillespie, who briefly succeeded Kirsten in overseeing the white-ball setup, had earlier raised similar concerns. The former Australian pacer alleged contractual issues with the PCB, claiming unpaid dues and multiple breaches of agreement. In response, the board maintained that Gillespie had failed to honour the four-month notice period outlined in his contract.

--IANS

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