'I wasn't making excuses' - Umar Gul defends comments on cold weather after Jason Gillespie's criticism

Gillespie vs Gul: The Cold-Weather Clash That Exposes Pakistan's Chaos

Pakistan's Tour of England has gone from bad to worse, and the fallout is now spilling out of the dressing room and onto social media.

After getting blown out in the first two Tests, the PCB pulled the trigger on some serious housekeeping—sapping seven players from the squad and axing head coach Sarfaraz Ahmed along with bowling coach Gul himself. Among the casualties were heavy hitters Imam-ul-Haq, Mohammad Rizwan, and Salman Ali Agha (who'd captained in the opener). That's a massive squad shake-up.

But the real story is the public spat between Gul and Australia legend Jason Gillespie, who didn't hold back on the Fast Bowling Cartel podcast: "Give me a spell, Umar. Not surprised you're not bowling coach anymore, champ. How ridiculous is that?"

Gul fired back on X, and honestly, his read makes sense from a data standpoint. Pakistan flew over from the West Indies—hot summer conditions—straight into an English autumn. He pointed out that even the Croydon practice match was scorching, then Headingley came down with rain and cold. His thesis: stiff bowlers, poor execution, weather to blame. "Give me a spell, Umar"—Gillespie's jab at his excuse-making, but the physiological logic holds up. Cold muscles, reduced pace and movement.

Here's where it gets juicy. Gillespie's criticism goes way beyond Gul. He called the whole setup "just chaos" and nailed a glaring contradiction: the PCB sacked seven players, then asked them to stick around to meet the King because it'd look bad to show up with a partial squad. "How can you treat people this way? It makes zero sense."

My take: This is a red flag for anyone looking at Pakistan's fundamentals. Sapping seven first-team players mid-series plus a coaching overhaul is a gamble with massive downside risk. You don't rebuild a bowling attack by decapitating it three Tests in.

Third and final Test kicks off at Edgbaston on Sept 9. Pakistan come in restructured, unfocused, and under the spotlight. The market would love this team right now.

What's your call—Gul had valid reasons, or was Gillespie right to call out the excuses? Drop your thoughts.

Source: Crictracker