Pakistan’s men’s cricket team has been through a tumultuous year, failing miserably at both the 50-over World Cup in November and the T20 World Cup in June. In the Test format, they lost a series away in Australia and then, most recently, their first series against Bangladesh at home.
Babar Azam, their all-format star batter, has gone through a lean patch and has handed back the limited overs team’s captaincy for the second time in 11 months. Pakistan’s pace bowlers, their strongest asset historically, have failed to deliver at crucial moments and their Test captain, Shan Masood, has failed to score a century in his last 14 innings.
Enter, Jason Gillespie. The former Australian fast bowler turned cricket coach has taken over as the Test team’s head coach and was in charge when Pakistan lost the series against Bangladesh.
Gillespie finds himself in tough circumstances, especially as eighth-ranked Pakistan find themselves in a busy period of Test cricket and host third-ranked England in a three-match Test series from Monday.
In an exclusive interview with Al Jazeera’s Kevin Hand, Gillespie reveals his plans for the Pakistan side.
Al Jazeera: You’ve taken over the side at a busy time but also at one of their worst periods in recent years. How do you plan to stop a further slide?
Jason Gillespie: When I took this role on I knew it was [going to be] a challenge, but I went into it relishing the opportunity. It’s not going to be easy but I’m confident in the players and their abilities. I’m confident that myself, my coaching staff and support staff can help them play the best cricket possible.
We played some good cricket [against Bangladesh], but we didn’t play enough good cricket. We played a good hour and then we had a bad hour. Consistency is key in Test cricket – when you get on top you stay on top.
We need to hang in games for a bit longer. We have to sharpen up and be consistent and disciplined for longer. Gary Kirsten [Pakistan’s new white-ball coach] and I have identified that if we’re more robust, fit and strong we can execute our skills with more discipline consistently.
Al Jazeera: How is this job different from the other coaching jobs you’ve taken on in the past?
Gillespie: It’s a completely different environment.
For a start, it’s a Test coaching gig as opposed to domestic cricket. I’ve coached a lot in the United Kingdom and coached a lot in Australia, I’ve done a little bit in India with the Indian Premier League and in Zimbabwe, so this is a new challenge.
I’m doing a lot of observing and listening to try to understand and add some value in the right way.
I was conscious of not just coming in, being brazen and saying, “I know everything – do this, do this and this.” I wanted to come in and listen, learn and get a feel for what Pakistan cricket is about. It’s been a good learning curve.
Al Jazeera: What’s your first goal with this team?
Gillespie: I’ve made it very clear that I want to show faith in players. Obviously, if performances over a significant period of time are not where they want to be, change happens.
I’ve been in the job for two Test matches, so I don’t want to make wholesale changes. That’s not really showing backing and belief.
This series I want to see improvement, progression and learning from the last one. We’ve had some good discussions about how we want to be seen, how we want to go about it and one thing that really stands out for me is the pride the players have in representing Pakistan – it’s huge. It hurts them when they don’t perform well.
The players want the country to be proud of them, to give people something to aspire to and make the people of Pakistan feel good about themselves. I’ve been really proud of the players for sharing their thoughts and feelings.
There’s a lot of criticism in the media – a lot of former players can be quite critical. They have a role to play when they are in the media. All the current players idolise the former players that they grew up watching and supporting. When a former player talks positively about the team or about an individual, these guys walk a foot taller.
I would love to see them backing the current players in the media.
Al Jazeera: Pakistan cricket is infamous for its instability and frequent changes behind the scenes. How does it affect the team’s performance?
Gillespie: If there’s inconsistency off the field, I must ensure consistency on the field
I see it as an important part of my role – creating an environment for players. “Comfortable” is not the word because we want players being challenged all the time in order to improve, but we want it to be a safe environment where players know they can play their game with the backing of the support staff and the PCB.
If they’ve got that support they can go out and represent Pakistan to the best of their ability. I’m striving really hard with my staff to create an environment where the players can speak freely and openly.
Al Jazeera: How do you rate Shan Masood as a captain?
Gillespie: Shan is playing a huge role. He’s a fine leader but he’s been criticised because the team haven’t performed well.
People need to remember that Shan is still very new to this role and only got it in Australia at the end of last year. He’s been captain for five Test matches, so it’s very early days in his leadership.
The way he wants the team to go about their work and play – both of us are 100 percent aligned on it. We’re talking the same language.
A lot of people don’t see the way he works and speaks with the players off the field. In and around training, he has a positive influence and shows his backing and belief and support for all his teammates.
Al Jazeera: You’ve spoken about fitness – mental and physical – being a core requirement for a successful cricket team. Why did you feel the need to highlight it to a group of premier cricketers from one of the biggest cricketing nations?
Gillespie: It’s an area that certainly needs to improve in order to give ourselves the best chance [on the field].
Whether you’re a domestic player or an international player, it is your responsibility to be as fit, robust and as strong as you can possibly be to handle the rigours of international cricket. It is as simple as that. It’s part of your job. We’ve got to keep pushing these standards and challenging our players to continue to improve.
As head coaches, me and Gary, believe that when players arrive in the international side, we shouldn’t be talking about fitness. It should be a given. It’s like getting up and brushing your teeth. Maintain it, develop it and improve it.
In our sport, we always talk about going to training and improving our batting, bowling, fielding – fitness is exactly the same. We need to make sure from the domestic level up to the national side that fitness is understood and respected as something that is vitally important.
Al Jazeera: In a recent domestic game broadcast, you highlighted the importance of load management for the players. How are you going to implement it?
Gillespie: Gary and I will work closely. He’s got two formats and I’ve got one, but together, we have a number of players that play all formats and we want them to be available to play as much as possible for Pakistan.
We want to identify games and series where we can manage our players. There’s not only the three formats for representing your country, there’s domestic cricket, there are international T20 leagues as well. We don’t want to stop players from having those experiences and earning those financial incentives, but we have also got to be mindful that these players represent Pakistan and we want them playing as much as possible for their country.
It’s a difficult balance but I haven’t shied away from the fact that there may be times that we have to look after a couple of players for some Test matches, or for Gary with T20 or one-day games, to make sure we get the best out of them.