Former Pakistan Test coach Jason Gillespie has turned up the heat on chief selector Aaqib Javed, saying the national team is now “playing with fear” following a dramatic mid-series shake-up of the squad. The comments add to a growing list of former players and coaches openly criticising the Pakistan Cricket Board’s (PCB) handling of the situation.
What Triggered the Backlash
The controversy stems from Pakistan’s response to back-to-back Test defeats in England. After being bowled out heavily in the series opener at Headingley and then losing by a wide margin at Lord’s, the PCB made a sudden call: head coach Sarfaraz Ahmed and pace-bowling chief Umar Gul were removed from their roles, and seven players were sent home from the tour before the third and final Test.
New Zealander Mike Hesson, already Pakistan’s white-ball chief, and Australian Ashley Noffke have since stepped in to lead the side for the remainder of the tour, with the series finale set to begin at Edgbaston on September 9.
Gillespie’s Criticism of Aaqib Javed
Gillespie, who coached Pakistan’s Test side for eight months in 2024 and guided the team to a series win over England during that spell, didn’t hold back when speaking to an Australian newspaper about the upheaval. He pointed directly at Javed’s selection decisions, questioning how a player could go from captaining the side in the first Test to being dropped and sent home before the third.
He described the team’s selection approach as inconsistent to the point of being erratic, and said Javed needs to “look at himself in the mirror” over how the situation has been handled.
Gillespie also pushed back on comments he says Javed made blaming him and former white-ball coach Gary Kirsten for the team’s struggles, pointing out that neither of them has been involved with the setup for roughly two years — the entire span of Javed’s tenure as chief selector.
“No Communication” With Players
Beyond the selection calls themselves, Gillespie raised a separate concern: how the axed players found out they’d been dropped. According to him, there was no direct communication from Javed to the players involved — instead, they reportedly learned about their exclusion through family, friends, and media reports rather than from team management directly.
Gillespie Isn’t Alone
The criticism isn’t limited to one former coach. Ex-Pakistan captains Shahid Afridi and Shoaib Malik have both voiced confusion over the decisions, and former head coach Mickey Arthur described the entire situation as ridiculous. The pattern of reaction suggests the discomfort with how this reshuffle was handled goes well beyond a single voice.
What’s Next
With Hesson and Noffke now in interim charge, Pakistan heads into the third Test at Edgbaston on September 9 looking to salvage some credibility after already losing the series. How the team performs — and how the selection process is handled going forward — will likely determine whether this controversy fades or intensifies further.
Final Thoughts
Jason Gillespie’s comments have pulled Pakistan cricket’s latest leadership crisis further into the spotlight, turning attention away from results on the field and onto how decisions are being made off it. With several respected former players and coaches now questioning the process, pressure on Aaqib Javed and the PCB’s selection strategy shows no sign of easing before the Edgbaston Test.
