When Kirsten featured on the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) podcast, she acknowledged the difficulty of making quick adjustments but expressed optimism that the squad could establish a structure over the next three weeks, giving the players plenty of time to prepare for the World Cup.
He added that they have been communicating as a squad and praised Azhar Mahmood for his outstanding work as the “interim head coach.”
“I happen to be working on an assignment right now. Moving away was therefore challenging. I need to look over my contract right now.
But the arrangements are set in motion. In his role as acting head coach, Azhar Mahmood is performing admirably. Right now, we’re speaking with each other. I’m learning about the squad and their style of play.
It’s lovely to see them play. I have to be in the room, but I have to keep my distance. Although we communicate as a team, he is now in charge. I don’t want to take the lead from a distance because I don’t believe it is a good place to be. Actually, it’s not easy, but we’re trying our hardest.
“It’s going to be a fast turnaround (for me), we just need to acknowledge that.” However, over the next three weeks or so, we hope to implement some structures into the team to give the players the clarity they need ahead of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup.
Notably, Gujarat Titans, an Indian Premier League (IPL) team, have Gary Kirsten as their coach and mentor.
Kirsten will be leading the team in the following year’s ICC Champions Trophy 2025 in Pakistan, ACC T20 Asia Cup 2025, and the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 in India and Sri Lanka in addition to the forthcoming ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024 and other bilateral white-ball series.
