Pakistan’s red-ball head coach Jason Gillespie is in the news once again, with the PAK vs ENG third Test going on in Rawalpindi at the moment. This time, the Aussie has slammed the former greats of the country and said that they need to be more mindful of the public remarks they make, which in turn can harm the morale of the players.
Gillespie’s Warning..
Speaking with Sky Sports, Gillespie highlighted the ex-players who make negative comments on their TV shorts, and Youtube channels. “I’m very protective of players and very protective of staff I work with and just want to make sure that the environment that we’re trying to create is a safe space for everyone and if that gets eroded then that can lead to a bit of frustration,” Gillespie said.
Jason Gillespie did not end there, and said that these ex-players are widely followed, and in fact, the current Pakistani team also follows them..so they need to be mindful of what they speak. “A lot of former players have their own space on social media – YouTube, whatever, and they’re paid to have an opinion.
“One thing that I have noticed here is that the players notice everything and if they get some positive feedback from former players they idolized as kids, that goes a long way when they get some positive reinforcement. But it can have the opposite effect too if there’s a lot of criticism by those former players,” he said.
Once again, the former lanky pacer voiced his opinion over his decreasing role in the Pakistani Test side. Recently, both him, and Shan Masood were removed from the selection committee.
“I think there’s always frustration from time to time. For me, when I came on board with Pakistan cricket, I was told there was a long-term plan, and we need to make sure our communication’s spot on. I made that a real focus and so you can get frustrated if those things aren’t done how you would like,” he concluded.
PAK vs ENG, 3rd Test
Meanwhile, in the third Test at Rawalpindi, the match is hung in balance, with England scoring 267 in the first innings. In reply, Pakistan managed to wipe off the deficit on the second day, with two more wickets in hand.
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