Pakistan Red Ball head coach Jason Gillespie wants to give players a chance to keep their place in the team, but he won’t wait forever.
Gillespie said in a Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) podcast on Saturday that “if the performance is not up to the desired standard for a long period of time, then we may consider changes.”
Pakistan have retained the same squad for the first Test against England next month, having lost 2-0 at home to Bangladesh.
Left-arm spinner Nauman Ali, who was overlooked for the Bangladesh series, has been included as the other spinner while leg-spinner Abrar Ahmed will also be an option.
Gillespie said: ‘I’m learning that the players understand my selection philosophy. We want to support and encourage the players.’
Pakistan enter the three-Test series against England on the back of having lost six of their last 10 domestic Tests while drawing the other four.
Pakistan’s poor performance in domestic Test matches includes a three-nil clean sweep by England in 2022.
One of those defeats came in Multan, which will host two back-to-back Test matches with the first Test starting on October 7.
Gillespie had a disappointing start as a head coach. Bangladesh completely overpowered Pakistan in two Test matches in Rawalpindi.
Rawalpindi will host the third and final Test against England from October 24.
Pakistan’s batting has been struggling for a long time in Test matches.
Especially the star batsman Babar Azam who scored a maximum of 41 runs in his last 16th Test innings.
Captain Shaun Masood has been retained as captain for the first Test against England, although he has lost five Tests in a row since becoming captain last year.
Gillespie said: ‘A lot of people are already calling us a loser against England and that’s fine, that’s not a problem.
‘This will give our boys even more motivation. We will go and do our best and hopefully the results will work in our favour.’
Gillespie is well aware of England’s ‘aggressive’ strategy in which the English team has scored runs at a rapid rate against all types of bowling.
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According to Gillespie: ‘I don’t particularly like the term ‘aggressive’ but they play aggressive cricket. We have seen them improve their game but we will play our game.
‘We will try to play with consistency and discipline and try to move the game forward by striking at the right time and taking advantage of opportunities.’
In the second Test match, Pakistan gave Bangladesh a chance to win by 26-6 in the first innings. The visiting team won by 2 nil.
Gillespie said that he wanted Pakistan to hold on to the lead once they took the lead and not give the opposition a chance to come back into the game.
“Once you get the lead you have to find a way to hold on to it and not give the opponent a chance to get back into the game,” he said.
‘We must close that door and maintain our lead.’
Kamran Ghulam, Pakistan’s leading run-scorer in domestic cricket, has not been selected for the first Test while fast bowler Muhammad Ali has been dropped.
“Look, when players are out of the team, they’re disappointed,” Gillespie said. I’d be surprised if they weren’t disappointed.
“I am relatively new to the role and have only been involved in two Test matches so far. It’s not enough to make long-term decisions about players. At this stage I would prefer to support and encourage them.’
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2024-09-30 11:41:43
