Hours after Gary Kirsten resigned as Pakistan ‘s head coach, former cricketer Basit Ali has made a sensational claim. As per Ali, Kirsten left because he was against the idea of Mohammed Rizwan being the captain of the side. Ali reckons Kirsten wanted a different captain and that is the reason behind the fallout. Once Kirsten resigned, PCB gleefully accepted it without much fuss. Kirsten was appointed as Pakistan ‘s coach in April. Unfortunately, Kirsten’s mentorship could not yield the results as Pakistan could not even make it to the knockout stage of the T20 World Cup . Ali reckons PCB chief Mohsin Naqvi should be blamed for Kirsten leaving. 

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‘Whoever raises their voice will be sidelined’

“Mohsin Naqvi has come with a lot of power. The coaches, selectors and managers are being removed. Earlier, the chairman used to be changed from time to time. Now, whoever raises their voice will be sidelined,” Basit said on his YouTube channel.

Ali reckons Kirsten wanted a different white-ball captain and the PCB chief did not allow that. 

‘Kirsten wanted a different captain’

“The story started when Mohammad Rizwan was named Pakistan’s new white-ball captain. Kirsten wanted a different captain and demanded another player in the team. Coincidently, both of them are not in the team. He was thinking that maybe he could have full authority. However, he doesn’t know that in Pakistan, even the PCB chairman can get changed overnight,” he added.

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With Kirsten now out of the system, PCB has asked red-ball coach Jason Gillespie to take charge for the Australia tour, which begins on November 4 and consists of three ODIs and three T20Is.

Gillespie joined the Pakistan team as the Test coach at roughly the same time as Kirsten.