'Jason Gillespie is a bit like Gambhir'- Ricky Ponting on Jason Gillespie's appointment as Pakistan's red-ball coach

Former Australian captain Ricky Ponting has expressed confidence in Jason Gillespie's appointment as the red-ball coach of the Pakistan cricket team. Ponting compared Gillespie to Gautam Gambhir, noting his strong coaching record across different teams over the past few years.

"Jason Gillespie is a bit like Gautam Gambhir. Pretty much everywhere he has been, his coaching record has been very very good. He will have some challenges I got no doubt about it. But he is a deep thinker and as I said, a quiet person that goes about it in his own way," Gillespie said.

Ponting mentioned that former teammates have shown support for Gillespie through various WhatsApp groups.

"We've got a few WhatsApp groups over the years, all of us old guys that have played together. So everyone's congratulated him (Gillespie) and wished him luck in that role,” he said.

He also suggested that changes in the coaching setup were not surprising following Pakistan's disappointing T20 World Cup performance, implying that such changes are necessary to improve future outcomes.

“And look, to be honest, I am not surprised at all by the amount of changes in that group. I know it is a different format but they had a very disappointing T20 World Cup. If you are not willing to make some changes, you're expecting similar results to come your way," he added.

Gillespie’s first assignment as Pakistan’ red-ball head coach would be the upcoming two-match Test series against Bangladesh, starting from August 21 in Rawalpindi.