Gary Kirsten claims 'interference' led to premature departure as Pakistan head coach

KARACHI: Former South Africa cricketer and renowned coach Gary Kirsten on Saturday cited external "interference" as the reason behind his premature departure as Pakistan's head coach.

During an interview with talkSPORT Cricket, Kirsten claimed dealing with significant interference during his tenure as Pakistan head coach, adding that the "constant noise from the outside" made it tough for him to continue.

He also criticised the dealing of coaches in Pakistan cricket, terming them "the lowest hanging fruit" when the team underperforms.

"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 said.

"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.

"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. Then why recruit the coach?"

Kirsten, however, asserted that he "thoroughly enjoyed" working with Pakistan players despite the language barrier, stressing that all professional cricketers across cultures are great people.

"I actually really enjoyed working with the players. I think professional cricketers across the board in any culture are great people. We are cricket people. We love working together," Kirsten continued.

"We talk the same thing, even though there was a language barrier. When you're talking cricket, you're kind of understanding what we're saying to each other. So I thoroughly enjoyed working with the players."

For the unversed, Kirsten took over as Pakistan's white-ball coach in April 2024 but stepped down six months into the role, shortly after the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) announced squads for the ODI and T20I tours of Australia and Zimbabwe without involving him in the selection process.