Former England skipper Michael Vaughan has extended his support to Gary Kirsten, the head coach of the Pakistani cricket team, for his extraordinary comments on the friction plaguing the Pakistani team’s dressing room. Meanwhile, former India cricketer Harbhajan Singh too has advised the New Zealand legend to sever ties with the Pakistani team and return to India.
Pakistan have crashed out of the ongoing T20 Cricket World Cup after losing to minnows, the USA, and arch-rivals India. Several media reports had quoted Kirsten as saying, “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.”
Reacting to the reports, Harbhajan Singh tweeted, “Don’t waste ur time there Gary .. Come back to Coach Team INDIA .. Gary Kirsten One of the rare 💎.. A Great Coach ,Mentor, Honest nd very dear friend to all in the our 2011 Team .. our winning coach of 2011 worldcup . Special man Gary ❤️.”
Don’t waste ur time there Gary .. Come back to Coach Team INDIA .. Gary Kirsten One of the rare 💎.. A Great Coach ,Mentor, Honest nd very dear friend to all in the our 2011 Team .. our winning coach of 2011 worldcup . Special man Gary ❤️ @Gary_Kirsten https://t.co/q2vAZQbWC4
— Harbhajan Turbanator (@harbhajan_singh) June 17, 2024
Vaughan, for his part, wrote, “Strong but I think very true from Gary Kirsten ..”
Kirsten’s comments also evoked strong reactions from netizen both in Pakistan and India.
One wrote, “As expected. No one should be surprised by this statement from Gary Kirsten. Here is a coach who took India to a World Cup victory in 2011. This is the other end of the spectrum. Sad. Very sad state of affairs with Pakistan Cricket. Former champs in ODI & T20 to losing to minnows.
Spare a thought for what this gentleman is going through. I extend my moral support to Gary. Gary, this too shall pass.” “He is a good coach but as everyone knows, Pakistanis don’t deserve him,” wrote another user on Twitter.
Kirsten had created history as Team India coach in 2011 when Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s side won the ODI World Cup for the second time.