Gary Kirsten resigns as Pakistan's limited-overs coach
Karachi, Oct 28: Pakistan's white-ball coach Gary Kirsten on Monday stepped down after developing a rift with the country's cricket board within six months of his appointment.
The 56-year-old South African, who coached India to victory at the 2011 ODI World, was appointed by the PCB (Pakistan Cricket Board) in April end this year.
"The Pakistan Cricket Board today announced Jason Gillespie will coach the Pakistan men's cricket team on next month's white-ball tour of Australia after Gary Kirsten submitted his resignation, which was accepted," the PCB posted on 'X'.
Red-ball coach Gillispie, however, has made it clear to the PCB that he can only manage things for the white-ball tour of Australia which starts November 4 and is not interested in a permanent role as the limited overs coach, a reliable source aware of the development said.
"Gillispie has informed the board they should look for a replacement for Kirsten for the white ball games in Zimbabwe and onwards," he added.
Though the PCB didn’t give the reason for Kirsten’s sudden resignation, the source confirmed that it was because he was not involved when the board announced the squads for the Australia and Zimbabwe tours and the new captain of the white ball format on Sunday.
The PCB has withdrawn the coaches selection powers. Selection is now exclusively the domain of the selection committee.
"Kirsten was not happy with the abrupt manner in which the board took away his powers in selection and other team matters and made this very clear to Chairman Mohsin Naqvi on Sunday before sending in his resignation," another insider said.
He expressed fear that even Gillispie might end up resigning soon as he is also not happy with the current shift in how teams are selected now solely by the selection committee and coaches have no role in this.
Kirsten had been working as a batting coach with the Indian Premier League franchise Gujarat Titans before taking up the role in Paksitan.
The team is riding high on a come-from-behind 2-1 triumph over visiting England in a Test series that concluded last week.
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25 killed, 6 injured in fire at nightclub in Goa
Panaji (PTI): At least 25 persons were killed and six others suffered injuries in a massive fire that erupted at a nightclub in North Goa after midnight on Sunday, police said.
While the police earlier said 23 persons died in the fire, they later confirmed two more deaths.
The fire at Birch by Romeo Lane nightclub at Arpora in North Goa has claimed 25 lives, a police spokesperson said.
The deceased included four tourists and 14 staff members, while the identity of the remaining seven was yet to be established, he said.
Six persons suffered injuries in the blaze and they are currently undergoing treatment at the Goa Medical College and Hospital, Bambolim, near here, the official said.
The cause of the fire was yet to be ascertained, he said.
"The police and fire department are conducting the investigation and legal action is being taken," the official said.
As per initial information, the nightclub had not abided by the fire safety norms, Chief Minister Pramod Sawant said.
The nightclub, a popular party venue at Arpora village, located around 25 km from the state capital Panaji, opened last year.
“We will take action against the club management and also against the officials who allowed it to operate despite flouting safety norms,” Sawant said.
“This is an unfortunate incident during the peak tourist season in the coastal state,” Sawant said. “We will conduct a detailed inquiry into the incident and stringent action will be taken against the guilty,” he added.
