Aqib Javed becomes interim red-ball head coach after Gillespie resigns

Former fast bowler Aqib Javed has been appointed Pakistan’s interim test coach after Jason Gillespie resigned, the country’s cricket board (PCB) said on Thursday.

Aqib, who was appointed Pakistan’s interim white-ball coach last month, will also take on red-ball coaching duties.

Australian Gillespie was signed by the PCB on a two-year contract in April alongside Gary Kirsten, who resigned as limited-overs coach in October. Gillespie resigned earlier on Thursday amid media reports of a breakdown in relations between him and the PCB.

“Aqib’s first assignment as red-ball head coach will be the two-match test series against South Africa during the ongoing all-format tour,” the PCB said in a statement.

Pakistan are in South Africa playing a three-match Twenty20 international series followed by three one-day games, before the first test begins in Centurion on Dec. 26, and the second in Cape Town on Jan. 3.