Mickey Arthur, Pakistan’s old head coach, really enjoyed it when Jason Gillespie called Aaqib Javed a ‘clown’ on social media. Javed had blamed Pakistan’s cricket problems on too many coaching changes.
Javed is now Pakistan’s interim head coach, stepping in after Gillespie left. Gillespie wasn’t supposed to be the white-ball coach anyway; actually, he took the job when Gary Kirsten quit.
After Pakistan was knocked out of the Champions Trophy 2025, Javed told the press that the reason was that the team had seen 16 coaches and 26 selectors in just two and a half years. Gillespie responded by accusing Javed of always trying to sabotage him and Kirsten to get the head coach position.
Arthur, who coached Pakistan from 2016 to 2019 (the longest stint recently), told talkSport, I love this quote, to be honest. Jason Gillespie is a great coach and a great guy. Pakistan cricket keeps messing things up for themselves. They’re their own worst enemy. They have a lot of good players, resources, and talent, along with skills. But it’s still a mess, which is disappointing. I thought they were on the right track when they hired Gillespie and Kirsten because those guys acquired solid players. Ultimately, it’s the players who suffer.
Gillespie and Kirsten took over the red-ball and white-ball duties, respectively, early last year.
They both quit within months, reportedly due to disagreements with management and a lack of authority.
Arthur guided Pakistan to their last big win, the 2017 Champions Trophy, but was let go after the 2019 World Cup. Few know Pakistan’s cricket system better than him.
He added in the interview, They had great coaches who could have moved them forward. But then that machine started spinning in Pakistan, undermining people. Media agendas were pursued and it is ruthless. I feel bad for Gary and Jason. I have no doubt that they were undermined, and it hurts the players in the end and, eventually, Pakistan cricket.
Javed has kept his job after the Champions Trophy exit, However, Mohammad Rizwan has been removed from the T20I captaincy and left out (along with Babar Azam and Naseem Shah) from the T20 squad for the tour of New Zealand. He remains the ODI captain.
