Gillespie says showing faith in players key to success

FAISALABAD: Pakistan’s red-ball cricket team head coach, Jason Gillespie, has emphasised the importance of maintaining faith in the current group of cricketers, saying that showing confidence in the players will lead to long-term success.

Speaking during the commentary of the Champions Cup match between Lions and Stallions on Wednesday, Gillespie touched on various topics, including player development, fitness challenges, and the lessons he has learned since taking charge of the team.

Reflecting on his time as head coach, Gillespie shared his thoughts on getting to know the players and support staff, while also commenting on Pakistan Shaheens’ tour to Australia. “Yeah, look, the team’s been great,” Gillespie said. “I was fortunate enough to be in Darwin with the Pakistan Shaheens, which was a great experience to get to know some of the guys playing underneath the Test side. Obviously, the Test series didn’t go the way we would have liked against Bangladesh, but to start getting to know the players, the support staff, and everyone within Pakistan cricket has been fantastic.”

Gillespie, himself a fast bowler during his playing days, emphasised the importance of fitness in Test cricket. Fitness is a well-known challenge for Pakistan’s squad, and Gillespie has been actively addressing it. “Fitness has been well-documented in the press. That’s certainly something, as far as I’m concerned, and having spoken to Gary Kirsten, it’s a controllable. It’s something that we can control. We can continue to develop and work on that because, as we know, Test cricket is a challenge,” Gillespie remarked.

Regarding the squad selected for the upcoming series against England, Gillespie emphasised the need for continuity and not rushing into changes after every defeat. “We picked a squad which is not too dissimilar to what we had against Bangladesh. I’m really keen to show our faith and belief in our players. We don’t want to have knee-jerk reactions after every bad game or a result that hasn’t gone our way. We want to show the faith and belief in these players because they’re very good players, and we showed glimpses of good cricket in both the first and second Tests against Bangladesh in Pindi,” Gillespie said.

While Gillespie acknowledged that the team needs more consistency, he stressed that sticking with the core group would eventually pay dividends. “We just need to do it a little bit more consistently,” he added, reaffirming his belief that maintaining trust in the players could help them deliver better results.

On non-inclusion of Kamran Ghulam, who has been in sensational form, Gillespie acknowledged Kamran’s performances and said that he continues to be in his plans. “Kamran has been communicated that his form has been acknowledged. He’s had, in particular, recent excellent performances. There are guys in the Test squad who have been excellent over time, and we want to reward that,” he said.

Managing the workload of players, particularly those who participate across all formats, remains one of Gillespie’s key priorities. Fast bowlers like Naseem Shah and Shaheen Afridi are pivotal to Pakistan’s success but require careful management due to the intensity of international cricket. Gillespie has been mindful of adopting a “squad mentality” and ensuring that no single player is overburdened. “There’s a lot of cricket in all formats that we need to just be really aware of and make sure we’re managing our players as best we can,” Gillespie said.

One particular challenge Gillespie encountered was managing Shaheen Afridi’s availability during the Bangladesh series. Afridi’s wife was due to give birth at the time, and Gillespie initially wanted to rest him from the match. However, Shaheen was keen to play, and in hindsight, Gillespie believes it was a valuable lesson for him as a coach. “I learned a pretty good lesson as a coach in the first Test match when Shaheen’s wife was due to give birth. My initial thought was for him not to play and to spend time with his family. However, Shaheen, to his credit, was so keen to play. In hindsight, I should have made that call to allow him to have that important family time. It’s a lesson I’ve learned as a coach.”

Despite Pakistan’s chances of qualifying for the World Test Championship final being slim, Gillespie is focused on winning every game while acknowledging the possibility of giving youngsters an opportunity.