Coach call left Gillespie 'completely and utterly blindsided'

Jason Gillespie has revealed it was the shock decision to remove long-time teammate and collaborator Tim Nielsen as his senior assistant that led him to quit as Pakistan's Test coach.

It was announced last week that Gillespie's turbulent eight-month tenure at the helm of Pakistan's men's team had ended with his resignation shortly before embarking on a two-Test tour to South Africa.

During his time in charge, the former Australia quick who had coached Yorkshire and Adelaide Strikers to title successes led Pakistan to their first Test series win over England on home turf since 2005.

Shortly after that, and following ex-India coach Gary Kirsten's resignation as coach of Pakistan's white-ball teams, Gillespie stepped in as interim leader and oversaw the first ODI series triumph in Australia for more than two decades.

But his term in charge played out against a backdrop of increased instability with the Pakistan Cricket Board removing Gillespie from an expanded selection panel that was revamped without the coach's knowledge after the first-Test loss to England last October.

Gillespie told ABC Radio today he was due to fly to Pakistan last Friday before the Test touring party headed to South Africa for Tests at Centurion and Cape Town over Christmas and New Year, but the news about Nielsen's sacking had forced his hand.

It is understood that upon his appointment last April, Gillespie was guaranteed his choice of coaching assistant and he opted for Nielsen who played more than 100 Sheffield Shield matches for South Australia and was Australia men's team coach from 2007-11.

"The straw that broke the camel's back I suppose was, as a head coach you like to have clear communication with your employer," Gillespie said when interviewed during the lunch break of today's NRMA Insurance Test between Australia and India in Brisbane.

"And I was completely and utterly blindsided by a decision to not have high performance coach/senior assistant coach Tim Nielsen (who) was told his services were no longer required.

"I had absolutely zero communication from anyone about that and, after a number of other things that had gone on in the previous few months, that was probably the moment I thought 'I'm not really sure if they want me to do this job or not'.

"All the feedback I got from the PCB had got was how effective Tim had been in his role and the players were getting a lot out of him.

"I tasked him (Nielsen) with working closely not only with our batters, but with our fielding and our wicketkeeping.

"We out-fielded England in a Test series, and not many Pakistan teams can claim to out-field an opposition.

"Pakistan aren't renowned as being strong fielding sides over the years and Tim really drove that and put an emphasis on that.

"So to get all the positive feedback from everyone in Pakistan cricket about how effective we were as a coaching group, for then a decision to be made when the head coach doesn't get a text message, phone call or email about … a pretty big decision just left me thinking I'm really not sure if the PCB actually really want me to be part of it.

"With other decisions that were made, (such as) having to ask selectors when they're going to share what the squad is for a tour with the head coach, those sort of things just makes you think are they really interested in having you on-board."

In the wake of Gillespie's resignation, former Pakistan all-rounder Aaqib Javed (who was added to the men's selection panel in October) has taken over the dual roles of red and white-ball coach.

Gillespie, who had been appointed to a two-year term with Pakistan after four years at the helm of South Australia, claimed to have forged a strong working relationship with the nation's Test skipper Shan Masood.

"As coach, you want to create a safe an environment where they (players) feel their voices are heard," he said today.

"I know sometimes in cricket in different parts of the world, senior players are the only ones that are allowed to have an opinion or are allowed to speak.

"Shan (Masood) and I spoke a lot about that and addressed the players about whether you've played one Test or a hundred Test matches, it's irrelevant if you've got something of value to contribute to the team.

"And we felt we were making so many gains in that space."

Pakistan cricket was rocked after the first Test loss to England when former skipper and star batter Babar Azam was axed by the new selection panel, which had been revamped unbeknown to the head coach.

Gillespie's men then fought back to win the last two Tests on the back of some inspired spin bowling and a radically improved fielding effort to claim a 2-1 series win.

But having been removed as a selector and with his input to match planning significantly diminished, Gillespie found his role as coach had been effectively reduced to "hitting catches - and that was about it - on the morning of a game".

"You want to be able to have clear communication with all stakeholders, with selectors for instance and knowing what the team is as head coach at least the day before the game so you can help plan and prepare the players," he told ABC Radio.

"Those sorts of things proved to be quite difficult and that just made things more difficult to do my job effectively.

"And then with the news the board decided not to let Tim travel to South Africa, I've heard that was on the recommendation of someone which I felt made my job untenable."

It is unclear if the 49-year-old will look to continue his coaching career, or whether he will pursue further media opportunities having worked as an ABC Radio commentator during the recent Test between Australia and India at Adelaide.

Despite serving less than half his original two-year term in the historically fraught role as Pakistan coach, Gillespie remains buoyant about the team's playing stocks and prospects.

"The talent's there, if it can be nurtured and developed and everything moves in the right direction there's no reason why Pakistan can't be a powerhouse," he said.

"I went into the job eyes wide open.

"Pakistan had cycled through a number of coaches in a pretty short space of time, but I put my case forward and explained how I felt I could help."