Jason Gillespie Slams Aaqib Javed Amid Pakistan Cricket Crisis

The fallout from Pakistan’s bruising tour of England has turned into open warfare off the field, with former Test coach Jason Gillespie launching a scathing attack on chairman of selectors Aaqib Javed and the Pakistan Cricket Board’s handling of the crisis.

Seven players and two coaches have already been sent home after heavy defeats in the first two Tests. Now the knives are out.

Mass clear-out sparks fury

The PCB reacted to the innings-and-103-run humiliation at Headingley and the 194-run defeat at Lord’s by wielding the axe mid-series. Mohammad Rizwan, Imam-ul-Haq, Salman Ali Agha, Sarfaraz Ahmed and bowling coach Umar Gul were among those told to pack their bags and fly back from England earlier this week.

Seven replacements were drafted in. The Test side was handed to white-ball coach Mike Hesson, a move that only heightened the sense of improvisation rather than planning.

For many former players, it was the final straw. For Gillespie, it was a line crossed.

“Look in the mirror”

Speaking to Code Sports, Gillespie did not bother with diplomacy.

“I feel for the players, this is these guys livelihoods. From the outside, it looks like they are playing with fear,” he said, before homing in on the case of Salman Ali Agha.

Salman captained Pakistan in the first Test against England. By the second, he was out of the side. Before the third, he was on a flight home.

“How does that work?” Gillespie asked, summing up the bewilderment around a selection policy that seems to change by the session.

The Australian identified Aaqib Javed, who doubles as director of high performance and chairman of selectors, as the central figure in what he sees as a structurally broken system.

“It's pretty clear they don't have a selection strategy at all, particularly under Aaqib Javed. They change their mind like they change their pants -- daily,” he said.

Accusations, denials, and a widening rift

Aaqib has not stayed silent in recent weeks. The former Pakistan fast bowler has repeatedly pointed the finger at Gillespie and former head coach Gary Kirsten, accusing them of poor communication and of ignoring his input.

Gillespie has pushed back every time. This time, he went further, calling on Aaqib to stop using ex-staff as a shield.

“Aaqib Javed came out recently and blamed Gary Kirsten and myself for everything that is going on. Aaqib has been the chairman of selectors for the past two years. We haven't even been there. Somehow, he claims it is our fault. Make sense out of that. I think Javed needs to look at himself in the mirror,” he said.

The criticism did not stop there. Gillespie painted a picture of a setup where players learn their fate not from selectors, but from whispers and headlines.

“There is definitely no communication between Aaqib Javed, who is meant to be chairman of selectors, and the players. The players who were sacked heard it through family and friends and the media that they had been sacked,” he added.

For a national side already reeling from back-to-back defeats, the idea that players are discovering their careers have been upended via second-hand messages only adds to the sense of dysfunction.

England hammer blows, and a series on the brink

On the field, the numbers tell their own story. An innings-and-103-run loss at Headingley. A 194-run defeat at Lord’s. Two Tests, two thrashings, and a team stripped of key figures before the final match of the series.

The third and final Test begins at Edgbaston on September 9. Pakistan arrive there with a reshaped squad, a new man overseeing the red-ball side, and a public row raging between one of their most powerful administrators and a former head coach.

The results in England have already been brutal. The real question now is whether the damage being done behind the scenes will last even longer.