Pakistan team’s batting coach and member of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) selection committee, Mohammad Yousuf revealed in a press conference on Tuesday that Gary Kirsten is the new head coach of the Pakistan cricket team in white ball format.
In response to the question on why five members out of seven in the selection committee hail from Lahore, the former batting maestro replied, “Asad Shafiq is from Karachi while our new head coach Gary Kirsten, [In white-ball format] hails from South Africa.”
It was reported earlier that Gary Kirsten will take charge of Pakistan’s white-ball team while former Australian fast bowler Jason Gillespie will become head coach of Pakistan’s Test side after the home series against the Kiwis.
He refuted the claims that there is no balance in the squad and that the selection committee is biased towards a certain demographic in Punjab considering the majority of the players are from Lahore.
During the presser, Yousuf congratulated Usman Khan and Irfan Khan Niazi for their selection to the Pakistan national side for the first time and praised them for their stellar performances, stating that youngsters will gain inspiration from them in the future.
“I want to congratulate Usman Khan and Irfan Khan Niazi, both youngsters have performed well at the domestic level and they deserve to be selected, I hope that the youngsters take inspiration from them and work hard in domestic cricket to earn Pakistan team’s call up.”
Yousuf pointed out that Irfan Khan Niazi has been performing well in the domestic circuit and his rise in the Pakistan Super League with the Karachi Kings was a testament that he has worked hard with determination and perseverance in domestic cricket.
The PCB selection committee announced the 17-man squad for the home series against New Zealand in a five-match T20I series where they will play the first three matches at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium while the last two matches will be played at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore.