Given his two-decade coaching credentials, Gary Kirsten’s appointment as Pakistan’s white-ball coach is a masterstroke. Although he hasn’t joined the team in person yet, Kirsten remains aware of the challenges he will deal with in the Pakistan Cricket camp. Having tasted success as a coach with the Indian Team before, Gary is no stranger to the dressing room environment in South Asian teams, vowing to help players unlock their mental blocks.

Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!

With the ninth edition of the T20 World Cup beginning on June 2 in the Caribbean and the USA, Kirsten said he knows the aspects he will work on in the Pakistan team’s quest of tasting success at the 20-team tournament. The Men in Green are drawn in Group A alongside arch-rivals India, co-hosts USA, Canada and Ireland.

ALSO READ | Take the video analyst’s computer and throw it away: Md Kaif BLASTS KL Rahul’s LSG after loss vs DC

Praising the Babar Azam-led Pakistan side, Gary said, like most people watching, he also gets mesmerised by the talent in the team but also remains aware of what’s stopping them from breaking barriers and winning everything in front of them.

“Everyone always talks about watching some of these players play on any given day and getting mesmerised by their abilities,” Kirsten said in a chat with talkSPORT. 

“But in the short time I’ve had in connection remotely with the team, one can pick up very quickly what the potential blockages are. And I guess it’s my role as a coach, to assist in unlocking the natural ability that they have,” he added.

Kirtsen ready to clear the mess

Pakistan cricket has gone through enough since the dismal 2023 World Cup campaign in India, where they failed to reach the semis despite favourable conditions. Pakistan lost to Australia (0-3) in the away Test series afterwards before losing to New Zealand 1-4 in T20Is. 

Although they drew the five-match series (2-2) against a second-stringed Kiwi team at home in April, they won the away three-match series against Ireland (2-1). 

Moreover, Babar Azam was sacked as the captain after the 2023 WC debacle, with Shaheen Afridi named the new T20I skipper for the New Zealand series, only for Babar to replace him as again as the white-ball captain heading into the marquee event. 

Speaking on these lines, Kirsten said his coaching experience has taught him one thing about the teams that fail to win despite the plethora of talent, which is factions – something he knows how to deal with.

“I’ve been around the coaching circuit enough to know that pretty much any team environment that’s not winning, you will get factions. The fact is, it could be highlighted even more in certain cultures and environments. The one thing about being a coach of over 20 years now is that you get a little bit more thick-skinned. And that’s the one thing I did learn from Bob [Woolmer], by the way.

“He had a really thick skin by the end of his coaching career. Because you’re just trying to do as best a job you can, accepting the fact that when the team’s not doing well, there’s always going to be a whole bunch of criticism,” Pakistan’s new coach noted. 

Meanwhile, Pakistan will play England in the four-match T20Is starting May 22 in Leeds.

You can now write for Baazigarnews.com and be a part of the Baazigar family. Share your stories and opinions with us here.