National teams are not where you question a player’s value: Jason Gillespie – Times of India

NEW DELHI: Jason Gillespie, the newly appointed head coach of Pakistan’s cricket team, emphasized the importance of fitness and the responsibility of players to demonstrate their worth to the national side during a press conference on Sunday, shortly after his arrival in Pakistan.

The former Australian fast bowler stated, Once a player was selected to play for the national team, there should never be any questions over his fitness, skill levels or mental approach.

“National teams are not where you still question a player’s value. If there are any perceptions about a player’s place, he has to change it with his performances and attitude,” Gillespie told, as quoted by PTI, reporters.

“My mantra is that we should only have fit, robust and strong players in the Test side because in modern day cricket of any format, fitness is a must.”

Gillespie expressed his desire for his team to adopt a constructive style of play, but he doesn’t entirely agree with the aggressive ‘bazball’ method when it comes to the longer format of the game.

“To me Test cricket is always about playing it session to session and seizing the opportunity when it comes your way. Match is dictated by the opposition and conditions.

“I want Pakistan to play in authentic Pakistan style and create an identity for itself. What I know is that Pakistan has the talent to do well. It is just about honing these players to work together to get consistently good results.”

Gillespie expressed his enthusiasm for taking on the role of head coach.

“Both me and Gary (Kirsten) are very excited about these assignments. I have exchanged views with him and obviously we can help each other reach our goals in red and white ball cricket.”

Gillespie expressed his view that the responsibility of selecting the finest talent from Pakistan’s domestic cricket lies with the selectors. However, he eagerly anticipates the opportunity to witness the talent firsthand during the four-day matches against Bangladesh in Darwin later this month.

When questioned about Pakistan’s disappointing World Cup performance and the demands for Babar Azam’s removal from captaincy, Gillespie acknowledged the widespread disappointment felt by all. Nevertheless, he maintained that the PCB is in the best position to address matters concerning leadership.