Pakistan's red-ball format head coach, Jason Gillespie has urged former cricketers to avoid unwarranted criticism of the national team as he believes it can deeply affect the players.
Gillespie admitted that the comments former players made in TV shows and Youtube channels indeed bruised the cricketers. “I'm very protective of players and very protective of staff I work with and just want to make sure that the environment that we're trying to create is a safe space for everyone and if that gets eroded then that can lead to a bit of frustration,” Gillespie told Sky Sports.
The former Australian quick asked the players of yesteryears to be more judicious while airing their opinion, especially in social media. “A lot of former players have their own space on social media – YouTube, whatever, and they're paid to have an opinion.
One thing that I have noticed here is that the players notice everything and if they get some positive feedback from former players they idolised as kids, that goes a long way when they get some positive reinforcement. “But it can have the opposite effect too if there's a lot of criticism by those former players,” he added.