Lahore: Head coach Gary Kirsten has lambasted the Pakistan men's national team players following their unceremonious exit from the ICC Men's T20 World Cup in the group stage, pulling up the players for lack of unity and some basic skills.
While Kirsten pulled up the players after their final league match in the T20 World Cup, former India off-spinner Harbhajan Singh told his former coach to return to India and take over from Rahul Dravid.
"There's no unity in Pakistan's team. They call it a team, but it isn't a team. They aren't supporting each other; everyone is separated, left and right. I've worked with many teams, but I've never seen such a situation," Kirsten reportedly told the players after Pakistan's final league match in the T20 World Cup against Ireland.
According to reports in Pakistan media, Kirsten picked on each player in the squad and cited a lack of unity in the team as the main reason for their failure to reach the Super Eight stage.
Pakistan were stunned by debutants the United States in one of the biggest upsets in the T20 World Cup and then went down to arch-rivals India despite bowling them out for a paltry score.
The 56-year-old Kirsten, a former India coach, had taken over the Pakistan white-ball team just before the T20 World Cup while former Australia pacer Jason Gillespie will coach the red-ball team. Kirsten joined the Pakistan team during the series with England after completing his stint in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024.
It is now to be seen how the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) reacts to Kirsten's comments against the players.
