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Former Australian pacer Jason Gillespie - widely regarded as one of the finest fast bowlers of his generation - has opened up about his turbulent tenure as head coach of the Pakistan Test team.

Gillespie's brief stint was marred by severe administrative volatility within the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), a period defined by frequent, knee-jerk overhauls of the selection panel, support staff, and playing XI.

Despite initially taking the role with a vision to restore Pakistan's standing in international cricket, Gillespie noted that the operational environment shifted dramatically following PCB Chairman Mohsin Naqvi's decision to appoint Aaqib Javed as chief selector.

"The appointment of Javed fundamentally altered the landscape," Gillespie told The Telegraph in an interview. "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, looking after the players and the staff, and having a role in selection, to having absolutely no role in anything."

"The whole experience just deflated me and put me off coaching. It affected me mentally, making me doubt myself and leaving me thinking whether I still wanted to be involved in the sport," he revealed.

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Jason Gillespie brutally COOKS Pakistan selector Aaqib Javed

"Aaqib is still chairman of selectors. He's kept his job. He's had a crack at Gary Kirsten and I, blaming us for where Pakistan cricket is where it is. Gary and I haven't even been there for two years."

"Yet, he has… pic.twitter.com/kIEWfzPvQk

— Brutal Truth (@sarkarstix) September 8, 2026

Throughout his time in charge, Gillespie experienced a constant shifting of his duties and authority, a situation he admitted took a significant personal toll. He expressed feeling severely "disrespected and undermined" by Javed, who has since transitioned into the role of PCB's Director of High Performance.

"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."

"I knew Aaqib was sniping around behind the scenes," he added. "That's just who he is and the way he works. People in Pakistan cricket told me that Aaqib was sniping at me behind my back. I'm sick of him talking negatively about me. If he continues to do it, then I'll start looking at taking legal action about that."

Adding to the administrative fallout, the former Australian cricketer disclosed that his financial matters with the national board remain unresolved. Gillespie revealed that the PCB has yet to clear his outstanding compensation, confirming that the board still owes him "thousands of dollars" following his departure.

"I was totally disrespected and undermined, and I direct that towards Aaqib Javed. At our first meeting, he came in with bravado, bluff, and bluster, wanting to show he was the man in charge. He said: 'This is what we need to do.' I listened and said OK.

"But this kept happening, and I pushed back on a couple of his comments. I just felt from that moment on that it wasn't going to work because he'd already decided what he was going to do. There was going to be no collaboration whatsoever."

"Aaqib had the support of the chairman and the board, and that's why he felt he was untouchable-as a coach, you feel compromised," Gillespie revealed.

"He was not a collaborative chairman of selectors. He doesn't take on other people's ideas, thoughts, or opinions. He might think he does, but he doesn't. It was his way or the highway. He just does what he wants because he is allowed to [because of] his close relationship with the chairman. That's not an environment that I wanted to work in or be a part of."

"It's heartbreaking for me to see what's going on now; it's a mess. I know the crux of it. It's Aaqib Javed. He is the problem, and as long as he is there, Pakistan cricket will continue to go backwards."

"You get chairmen and people at the board sitting at desks picking the captain; it's nonsense," Gillespie revealed.

"Get the right coach in, allow him time to let the dust settle, and then allow him to pick the captain and go from there to rebuild Pakistan cricket and take it forward, because at the moment it's going nowhere."