Pakistan cricket is again in the spotlight for all the wrong reasons following their disastrous Champions Trophy 2025 campaign. Before the marquee tournament had kick-started, there were numerous overseas head coaches in Pakistan: Mickey Arthur,Jason Gillespie & Gary Kirsten who resigned from the post due to personal reasons & a huge involvement by PCB in selection.
Aaqib Javed & Jason Gillespie engage in a war of words
Aaqib Javed, in an attempt to justify Pakistan’s poor performance, mentioned that there are a lot of selectors & coaches being used by the board.
“We changed 16 coaches in the last two-and-a-half years and 26 selectors. If you do this to any team in the world, their performance would be the same,”
Gillespie did not take this lightly and responded sharply,
“This is hilarious. Aaqib was clearly undermining Gary and I behind the scenes, campaigning to be the coach in all formats. He is a clown,”
Pakistan cricket continues to shoot itself in foot- Mickey Arthur.
Mickey Arthur has openly supported Jason Gillespie, defending him against remarks made by Aaqib Javed. Arthur, who previously guided Pakistan through one of their more successful white-ball eras, did not hold back in his assessment of the current scenario.
Speaking to talkSport, Arthur remarked,
“I love this quote, to be brutally honest. Jason Gillespie is a wonderful coach, wonderful man. Pakistan cricket just continues to shoot itself in the foot. It is its worst enemy,”
Arthur believes that Pakistan made the right decision by appointing Jason Gillespie and Gary Kirsten as coaches for the red-ball and white-ball formats, respectively. However, he expressed frustration over the instability and political interference that continue to hinder progress. Arthur backed Gillespie’s claims, highlighting the dysfunctional system that prevents Pakistan from reaching its full potential.
“There are so many good players; they’ve got the resources now; there’s so much young talent. They have incredible skill. And yet, it’s still so chaotic. It’s really disappointing to see. They had got some really good coaches who could take them forward. But then that machine that works in Pakistan just keeps undermining, and agendas are driven in the media,” said Mickey Arthur.
“It’s a jungle out there, and I feel desperately sorry for Gary and Jason. There’s no doubt in my mind that they were undermined… it’s to the detriment of the players and ultimately to the detriment of Pakistan cricket,” he added.
Larger Issues Plaguing Pakistan Cricket
Despite having an abundance of talent, Pakistan cricket continues to struggle due to internal politics, frequent leadership changes, and a lack of stability. The repeated cycle of hiring and firing coaches without allowing them time to implement their strategies has proven detrimental to the team’s success.
With the T20 World Cup 2026 scheduled in February-March 2026 in India & Sri Lanka, Pakistan must resolve its internal conflicts and focus on building a stable, high-performing unit. Otherwise, they risk further embarrassment on the international stage. It won’t be wrong to say that even the minnow teams like Zimbabwe, United States of America are giving tough competition to the Men in Green and making their life harder on field.