Former India player Harbhajan Singh has urged Gary Kirsten to leave Pakistan and join the Indian team as head coach. The Indian great came up with the request after Gary Kirsten sensationally said that there is absolutely no unity in the Pakistan team.
Kirsten’s comments came after Pakistan’s disastrous performance in the ongoing ICC T20 World Cup 2024. The former India head coach was confirmed as Pakistan’s white-ball coach last month and has failed to start his tenure on a good note. In his first assignment as head coach, Pakistan suffered a 2-0 defeat in England before performing poorly in the T20 World Cup.
The Men in Green were eliminated in the group stage after suffering two defeats in four games. They suffered a surprising defeat against the United States in the first game when they failed to defend 159 runs. The game ended tied before the United States won the Super Over.
It was followed by a humiliating 6-run defeat against arch-rivals India when the Babar Azam-led side failed to chase down 119. Pakistan then beat Canada and Ireland, but those wins were not enough for a place in the next round. After the abrupt exit from the T20 World Cup, Kirsten criticized the atmosphere in the Pakistan dressing room and said:
“There is no unity in the Pakistan team. They call it a team, but it is not a team. They don’t support each other; everyone is separated, from left to right.”
Harbhajan Singh’s request for Gary Kirsten:
Gary Kirsten made it clear that all is not well in the Pakistan team and being surprised to see the atmosphere inside the dressing room, Harbhajan Singh urged him to join the Indian team as head coach once again. The BCCI is currently looking for a new head coach as Rahul Dravid’s tenure will end after the ongoing T20 World Cup.
On X (formerly Twitter), Harbhajan Singh called the former South Africa batsman a rare gem and wrote:
“Don’t waste your time there, Gary. Come back to the INDIA coaching team. Gary Kirsten. One of the rare ones 💎. A great coach, mentor, honest and very dear friend to everyone on our 2011 team. Our winner. World Cup coach 2011 Special Man Gary ❤️.
Don’t waste your time there, Gary. Returns to the INDIA coach team. Gary Kirsten One of the rare ones 💎. A great coach, mentor, honest and very dear friend to everyone on our 2011 team. Our winning coach. from the 2011 World Cup. Special man Gary ❤️ @Gary_Kirsten
— Harbhajan Turbanador (@harbhajan_singh) June 17, 2024
Kirsten was India’s head coach from 2008 to 2011. During her tenure, India enjoyed unprecedented success in all formats as they achieved the number one ranking in Tests before winning the ODI World Cup in 2011. India has not won any World Cup. Since then.
