Leeds, May 20 (IANS): Pakistan's newly appointed white-ball head coach Gary Kirsten held a first team meeting with the squad on Monday ahead of the first Twenty20 International against England, scheduled to be played on May 22. Kirsten joined the Pakistan squad in Leeds on Sunday for the first time after taking the limited-overs coaching role. He headed for England after ending his coaching stint with the Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise Gujarat Titans, who missed out on a playoff berth. He was helming the job of the team's batting coach and mentor.
Pakistan are slated to play four T20Is against England in the lead-up to next month's T20 World Cup in the West Indies and the USA.
The 56-year-old South African was confirmed as the white-ball head coach along with Jason Gillespie as the red-ball head coach last month. The Australian will arrive in Pakistan in July for August’s ICC World Test Championship fixtures against Bangladesh to start his journey.
Apart from next month’s T20 World Cup 2024 and other bilateral white-ball series, Kirsten will be the head coach for the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 in Pakistan, the T20 World Cup 2026 in India and Sri Lanka, and the ACC T20 Asia Cup 2025.
The first T20I between Pakistan and England will be played at Headingley, Leeds on Wednesday.