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Gary Kirsten, who takes over as the head coach of the Pakistan men's team ahead of the ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2024, is determined to give the team the best chance of winning an ICC Trophy during his tenure.
The former South Africa opener and World Cup-winning coach with the Indian team has been appointed for a two-year period, during which he will oversee the team in three major ICC tournaments — two T20 World Cups (2024, 2026) and the ICC Champions Trophy in 2025.
"If you can win one of those three ICC Events, that will be an amazing achievement on its own, whether it’s the upcoming event or it’s two years from now," Kirsten said on the PCB Podcast.
"My job is to make sure that the team operates at its best, it’s as simple as that. And if the team is operating at its best, we will always have a good chance of winning a trophy."
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Kirsten is currently with the Gujarat Titans in the IPL and will join the Pakistan team only after the tournament. In the meantime, Azhar Mahmood will continue to be the interim head coach of the side as they prepare for the mega event.
The South African spoke in depth about how he believes in consistency in the process for sustainable success at this level.
"I’m a fan of continuity and consistency in the process and let the processes and systems serve their time because if does, you’ve got really talented players and there is really a good chance that you will have some sustainable success, which is what every team is looking for.
"I have to understand and kind of do an audit of the environment and just understand what’s working, what’s not working and where I can, as a head coach, move into the spaces that maybe have a bit of blockage to try and free that up so that the players can go out and perform at their best."
He understands the challenge at hand, though, and accepts that it's not easy to win an ICC Trophy.
"I think the important thing for me is to understand where the team is at and where we want to go to – whether that is winning World Cup events, which, by the way, is not easy," Kirsten said.
"Often some people think you just pitch in and you’re going to win the championship.
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"You can’t guarantee a trophy, but what you can do is put the steps in place to give yourself the best chance of winning a trophy. And that’s really what I’ll tend to do.
"Pakistan, by the way, and as we all know have got a history of performing well in World Cup events. So it’s just one of the steps that you need to take to go all the way. It’s as simple as that."
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