“Stop doing it to yourself”: Kevin Pietersen slams Pakistan after Gary Kirsten’s removal as head coach

London [UK], October 30 (ANI): Former England cricketer Kevin Pietersen took a dig at the Pakistan cricket team following the removal of Gary Kirsten as the national team’s head coach in the white ball format.

Only six months into his stint as Pakistan men’s ODI and T20I head coach and former South Africa batter Gary Kirsten resigned from the job on Monday.

Pietersen took to his official social media handle and expressed his disappointment on the 56-year-old’s removal.

“How can Pakistan Cricket lose Gary Kirsten with his resume in coaching? One step forward the last few weeks and two steps back today! Stop doing it to yourself. Too much talent to keep doing this kind of stuff!” the former right-hand batter wrote on X.

The news of Kirsten resigning comes barely a week before Pakistan’s white-ball tour of Australia begins. The South African was appointed to the role by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) on a two-year contract in April 2024, as per ICC.

The PCB announced on their social media channels that Test coach Jason Gillespie will be taking over Kirsten’s role for the Australia tour, which begins on November 4 and consists of three ODIs and three T20Is.

Gillespie, who joined as the red-ball coach at the same time as Kirsten, recently led the team to a historic Test series victory over England, Pakistan’s first at home since 2021.

Kirsten’s major assignment after taking over the head coach role was the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024 in the West Indies and USA, where Pakistan suffered an early exit in the group stage with losses against India and the USA.

The team was in preparations for the upcoming ICC Champions Trophy 2025, the first ICC event Pakistan will be hosting in nearly three decades.

The first batch of players will depart for Melbourne on October 28, with the rest of the squad following on October 29. Following the Australia tour, Pakistan will travel to Zimbabwe for another white-ball series.