KARACHI: Pakistan Test coach Jason Gillespie has expressed concern over the workload of the team’s pacers.
During a lunch with a small group of journalists in Karachi, the former Australian Test bowler shared his thoughts on the subject.
Gillespie, who recently took over as Pakistan’s Test coach, is preparing for his first series against Bangladesh.
He highlighted the high demands placed on Shaheen Shah Afridi and Naseem Shah playing across formats and participating in franchise cricket.
They can’t play every game. We will try to rest them in relatively less important matches. In the last year, Shaheen has bowled three times more than Mitchell Starc. How can he handle such a load?.”
Gillespie also mentioned plans to set up a camp from 6 August to prepare for the Bangladesh series, with the likelihood of the series being announced by the end of the month.
“We will also assess the pressure on the batsmen. Our goal is to prepare a backup. We will announce the serial probabilities by the end of this month. It has not yet been decided who will be rested. Shan Masood will lead the Test team.Although we haven’t met, we stay in touch by phone,” Gillespie said.
Gillespie discussed his recent talks with Babar Azam and Naseem Shah in Lahore and encouraged Babar to play his natural game.
He also outlined his schedule, which includes staying with the Pakistan Shaheens for their matches against Bangladesh A before returning to Pakistan on August 4.
As for the ICC Test Championship, Gillespie acknowledged the tough journey to the final and said the team must give 100% performance. Gillespie plans to watch home games in person during training camp and watch new talent to evaluate players’ performances.
Play your natural game freely, Gillespie told Babar
