Nielsen, who was appointed in August this year, officially designated as a “high performance red ball coach”, had seen his contract expire; it was due to be renewed after Pakistan’s tour of Australia, and he was awaiting a decision on an extension. He told PK Press Club that he felt he was “making good progress” with the team and was fully committed to the Test series against South Africa and the West Indies, but that the PCB had said his services were no longer needed.
It appears that PCB did not inform Gillespie in advance that he would no longer have his assistant coach alongside him in South Africa, a decision which left him extremely unimpressed. The failure to be consulted beforehand appears to be the most significant catalyst for his irritation and is part of a broader pattern of steady erosion of Gillespie’s roles and authority in the over the last few months.
In October, he was removed from the Test team selection panel and said he was now just a “day strategist”. Communication between the player and the board had been limited since the end of Pakistan’s white-ball series in Australia, where he was coaching the team on an interim basis following the departure of Gary Kirsten.
Gillespie’s anger reportedly stemmed in part from what he saw as a great relationship Nielsen had developed with the players, a point he had made more than once in public. Both Gillespie and Nielsen are believed to consider the fact that Nielsen is not based in Pakistan as the reason his contract was not extended, although, as Nielsen confirmed, he would have been available for both upcoming tours in their entirety.
While it is understood that the PCB is yet to make a decision on a possible replacement for Nielsen, the current administration has sought to replace the foreign coaches it had appointed earlier in the year with coaches based in Pakistan. The PCB has in the past attributed not spending enough time in Pakistan as a reason for its dissatisfaction with foreign coaches, most notably in the case of Gary Kirsten, who resigned in October. Gillespie, however, always maintained that he had fulfilled his contractual obligations in this regard.
While it is understood that Gillespie has not ruled out the possibility of stepping down ahead of the series against South Africa, the conditions in which his time at the PCB ends remain of crucial importance for what happens next. If the PCB decides to sack him, he could potentially have to pay the vast majority of what remains of his contract, which runs until mid-2026. If he resigns of his own accord, this compensation will be significantly lower.
Gillespie is expected to travel to South Africa from his home in Australia on December 13. Pakistan will play the first Test at Centurion on December 26, with the second in Cape Town starting on January 3.
PK Press Club contacted the PCB for comment but did not receive a response.
