- By Sunny Daud
- Tue, 08 Sep 2026 01:15 PM (IST)
- Source:JND
Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) made a lot of changes in their Test setup after a disappointing start to their ongoing three-match series against England.
After suffering humiliating defeats in the first two Tests, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) dropped seven players from the squad for the third Test in Birmingham, which starts on September 9. The board also made changes to the coaching staff, parting ways with head coach Sarfaraz Ahmed and fast-bowling coach Umar Gul.
Mike Hesson has now taken charge of the Test team. The former New Zealand head coach was already working with Pakistan’s white-ball sides and has now joined the squad in England.
Ahead of his first Test in the role, Hesson has received some advice from former Pakistan Test head coach Jason Gillespie. The former Australia fast bowler, who had a short stint with Pakistan in 2024 before leaving the position, has urged Hesson to stick to his beliefs and avoid simply agreeing with the PCB.
“My advice to Mike would be trust your instincts and don’t be a yes man,” Gillespie was quoted as saying by The Telegraph.
“I know him, he’s a great guy and I think he’s an excellent coach. I hope he just doesn’t get caught up in all this mess just because he’s happy to accept a pay cheque,” he added.
Gillespie’s own time with Pakistan ended after a period of growing disagreements within the team’s set-up. He has previously pointed the finger at Aaqib Javed for the problems he faced during his stint.
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The former pacer also revealed that the PCB still owes him thousands of dollars, but said he was never willing to compromise on his principles to keep his position.
“The PCB still owes me thousands of dollars, but I was never going to be a yes man,” Gillespie said.
“I wasn’t going to compromise on my principles. I never have throughout my career and I certainly wasn’t going to change. I could have stayed quiet, agreed to everything and taken home my salary, but that’s not me. Part of me knew I was probably going to be sacked in a couple of months anyway,” he added.
Gillespie also explained why he initially agreed to take charge of Pakistan’s Test side. According to him, the PCB had promised him an important role in rebuilding the country’s fast-bowling system.
He was particularly excited about the plan to prepare pitches that would offer more pace, bounce and carry to encourage fast bowlers.
“When I came on board, they wanted to bring back fast bowling. This is what was sold to me when I took on the role. They wanted to prepare surfaces that would bounce and carry and would encourage fast bowling because they felt that fast bowling was dying. I was on board and thought: ‘This is going to be really cool’,” Gillespie said.
However, Gillespie claimed that his position changed significantly after Aaqib Javed joined the set-up. He alleged that Javed became the key decision-maker, leaving him with little say in matters related to the Test team.
“The appointment of Javed fundamentally altered the landscape. From that moment, my relationship with Pakistan cricket completely changed. Aaqib came in and took over. It appeared to me that he was in charge of absolutely everything.
“I went from looking after the Test side, managing that and looking after the players and the staff and having a role in selection to then absolutely no role in anything,” he added.