Former Pakistan coach Mickey Arthur shared his take on the feud between Aaqib Javed and Jason Gillespie, which has been hogging the headlines for a while. He said that Pakistan Cricket shot itself in the foot and its worst enemy.
Pakistan National Cricket Team was hit by another fuss after they had a horrendous outing in the ICC Champions Trophy 2025. The Mohammad Rizwan-led side, despite being the host of the tournament, failed to win a single game and faced a group-stage exit after losing to New Zealand and India.
Jason Gillespie called Aaqib Javed a clown
Following the poor outing in the ICC Champions Trophy 2025, head coach Aaqib Javed blamed the change in management as a reason behind Pakistan’s poor performances. He pointed out that the PCB changed 16 coaches and 26 selectors, which hampered the confidence of the team.
However, Jason Gillespie, who was the red-ball coach of Pakistan before Aaqib Javed, called the current coach clown, said that he was undermining him and Gary Kirsten (white-ball coach of Pakistan before Javed) behind the scenes to be the coach in all formats.
Sharing his take on the same, Mickey Arthur said that Pakistan Cricket is its enemy. He pointed out that the country has wonderful talent, and when Gary Kirsten and Jason Gillespie were appointed as coaches, he thought they were on the right track. Speaking to Talksport, he said:
“I love this quote to be brutally honest. Jason Gillespie is a wonderful coach and a wonderful man. Pakistan cricket just continues to shoot itself in the foot. It is its worst enemy. 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. I thought when they signed Gillespie and Kirsten, they had gone down exactly the right route, and they had got some really good players. Because ultimately it’s the players that lose out.”
It’s a jungle out there and I feel desperately sorry for Gary and Jason – Mickey Arthur on Pakistan cricket
Mickey Arthur pointed out that Pakistan has good coaches but admitted that running agendas against each other is something that is putting them on the back. He added that Pakistan Cricket is a jungle and said that he has no doubt that Jason Gillespie and Gary Kirsten were undermined. He elaborated:
“They had got some really good coaches who could take them forward. But then that machine that works in Pakistan, that just keeps undermining and agendas are driven in the media.
“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 because it’s to the detriment of the players and ultimately to the detriment of Pakistan cricket.”
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