Ex-Pakistan head coach Mickey Arthur has backed Pakistani cricket team’s former Test team head coach Jason Gillespie amid his controversy with his successor Aaqib Javed.

“Pakistan cricket keeps shooting itself in the foot. They signed two outstanding coaches in Gillespie and Kirsten, but internal agendas took over, and capable coaches were undermined,” Arthur said in a podcast talkSport.

On Tuesday, Aaqib Javed commented on the frequent changes in Pakistan’s coaching staff, stating, “We changed 16 coaches in the last two-and-a-half years and 26 selectors. If you do this to any team in the world, their performance would be the same.”

The Pakistan Cricket Board appointed Aaqib Javed as the new head coach of the national cricket team last year.

When asked, the South African-Australian cricketer said: “It is a jungle and I feel sorry for Jason Gillespie and Gary Kirsten [former Pakistani coach].”.

Arthur, who was the coach when the team won the Champions Trophy 2017, expressed his disappointment over the “persistent instability” affecting the system.

He added that even with the presence of many talented players and abundant resources, the situation remains “chaotic.”

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This comes when Gillespie called Javed a “clown” and accused him of undermining both himself and former white-ball coach Gary Kirsten to assume their positions.

Former national team captain Shahid Afridi spoke on the same wavelength at an event in Karachi. Pakistani cricket “is in ICU” after their defeat in the Champions Trophy 2025, he said.