Karachi. South African legend Gary Kirsten, who made India ODI World Champions, resigned from his post in just 6 months. Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman Mohsin Naqvi said on Wednesday that Kirsten had breached the contract with the board by ending his tenure as Pakistan’s head coach for limited overs formats.

The South African coach, who played a key role in helping India become ODI World Champions in 2011, is understood to have resigned following a row with the PCB over stripping of his authority in selection matters. However, Kirsten has not commented on the matter since then. Naqvi said Kirsten terminated the contract with the board.

“He (Kirsten) committed some violations by breaking his contract with the PCB,” he told the media during an informal discussion on Tuesday evening. We didn’t take any initiative, they terminated the contract with us.

He refused to say anything else on the matter. However, PCB did not reveal the reason for Kirsten’s sudden resignation. Sources have confirmed that this happened because the board did not seek his opinion when announcing the team for the Australia and Zimbabwe tours and the new captain for the limited-overs format. PCB sources claimed that Kirsten breached his contract by not spending enough time in Pakistan. He insisted that the entire foreign coaching staff was available.

Naqvi said PCB has started searching for a new head coach for the white-ball team. So far, he has spoken to four to five potential candidates on the matter. He said: “We will have a new head coach in the limited-overs format by the end of this month. Jason Gillespie has agreed to join the team in Australia on a temporary basis. He is more focused on his role as red-ball head coach. The team will have a new coach in the white-ball format for the Zimbabwe tour.

Tags: Gary Kirsten, Pakistan Cricket Board