The departure of Kirsten, and the speed with which things have unravelled, is little short of stunning, even for Pakistan cricket. It means, for one, that Kirsten departs from his role without having coached Pakistan in a single ODI, the format where he achieved his greatest coaching success. Pakistan spent the best part of three months in the hunt for what Naqvi called "the best in class" coaches for the team, with several high-profile candidates, including Shane Watson and Daren Sammy, sounded out. Ultimately, they settled on Kirsten, who led India to a first ODI World Cup title in 28 years, for the white-ball format, with Naqvi saying it was a "remarkable opportunity for our players to glean insights from these seasoned professionals".

Kirsten's first major tournament was the T20 World Cup in the USA, an inauspicious beginning to his coaching stint. Defeats against USA and India led to Pakistan's earliest elimination from a T20 World Cup, with the side knocked out in the first round after three games. Babar Azam would quit as white-ball captain for the second time a few months later. But it was believed then that Kirsten needed time to get his feet under the table and develop a side, particularly with a home ICC Champions Trophy in early 2025, the first ICC event Pakistan host in nearly three decades.

It is not yet clear who will replace Kirsten for the upcoming tours of Australia and Zimbabwe. Pakistan's tour of Australia - comprising three ODIs and as many T20Is - begins in six days, with the first ODI in Melbourne on November 4.

*0655 GMT: The story was updated after the PCB officially announced Gillespie will coach in Australia