New Delhi, Jun 18: In a scathing criticism of the beleaguered Pakistan cricket team, head coach Gary Kirsten has said that there is “no unity” in the side and he has “never seen such a situation” in his long coaching career.
Kirsten’s criticism follows the Pakistan team’s group stage exit from the ongoing T20 World Cup in the USA and West Indies.
Entering the tournament as runners-up from the previous edition, the Pakistan team produced one of its worst performance in recent years and ended the event with a consolation win over Ireland, having suffered a shock loss to newcomers USA before biting the dust against traditional rivals India.
According to media reports in Pakistan, Kirsten, who guided India to ODI World Cup triumph in 2011, pulled no punches in his assessment of the team after being eliminated from the ongoing T20 showpiece.
“There’s no unity in Pakistan’s team. They call it a team, but it isn’t a team. They aren’t supporting each other; everyone is separated, left and right. I’ve worked with many teams, but I’ve never seen such a situation,” Kirsten said as per reports quoting a senior scribe.
According to reports on the Jang Newspaper website quoting sources, Kirsten said he saw no unity in the team and this was the main cause for the early exit from the World Cup.
“Kirsten told the players that he was surprised to see since he joined the team at the end of May that there is no unity in the team,” the report said.
The South African, who joined the team immediately after the Indian Premier League where he worked with Gujarat Titans, further expressed his displeasure over the fitness and skill levels of the Pakistan players.
“Your fitness levels are not up to the mark and you are far behind the rest of the world in terms of skill levels. Even after playing so much cricket, no one knows which shot to play and when,” Kirsten reportedly told the players.
The report said that Kirsten had warned the players that those who don’t improve would be excluded from the team.
A source in the Pakistan Cricket Board said that Kirsten would be sending a detailed report on the Pakistan team performance to the PCB very soon.
“Kirsten did have a word with PCB Chief Mohsin Naqvi but now that the World Cup assignment is over he will send a detailed report.”
Kirsten has returned home from the USA with assistant coach, Azhar Mahmood, and the source said he will come to Lahore around last week of August.
After Pakistan’s defeat to India, Kirsten put the team’s loss down to poor decision-making.
“Disappointing loss, that’s for sure,” Kirsten had said.
“I knew 120 was not going to be an easy target. If India got only 120, it was always going to be not the easiest. But I think we had the game at 72 for 2 with six or seven overs left. Disappointing not to get across the line from the position we got ourselves into.”
On Sunday, Pakistan beat Ireland by three wickets in their last match of the T20 World Cup, which was held at the Central Broward Regional Park Stadium in Lauderhill, Florida.
Pakistan’s defeat to the USA and loss to India meant they were eliminated from the event before the conclusion of the group stage matches.
The win against Ireland ensured that Pakistan finished third in Group A with two wins from four games.(PTI)
