 Kirsten in 2009 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Born | (1967-11-23)23 November 1967 (age 58) Cape Town,Cape Province, South Africa | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Nickname | Gazza | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Batting | Left-handed | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Bowling | Right-armoff break | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Role | Opening batsman | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Relations | Paul Kirsten (brother) Peter Kirsten (half-brother) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| International information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| National side | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Test debut (cap 257) | 26 December 1993 v Australia | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Last Test | 30 March 2004 v New Zealand | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ODI debut (cap 28) | 14 December 1993 v Australia | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Last ODI | 3 March 2003 v Sri Lanka | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ODI shirt no. | 1 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Domestic team information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1987–2004 | Western Province | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Head coaching information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2008–2011 | India | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2011–2013 | South Africa | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2024 | Pakistan (ODI and T20I) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Career statistics | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Medal record
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Source:ESPNcricinfo,28 December 2009 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Gary Kirsten (born 23 November 1967) is aSouth African cricket coach and former cricketer who was a member of the South Africa team that won the1998 ICC KnockOut Trophy.
Kirsten played 101Test matches and 185One Day Internationals for South Africa between 1993 and 2004, mainly as an opening batsman. His half brotherPeter also played provincial cricket forWestern Province, and then later for theSouth Africa cricket team which included the highlight of the1992 Cricket World Cup.
Kirsten was the coach of theIndian cricket team from 2008 to 2011, going on to win the2011 Cricket World Cup. He was appointed as the coach of theSouth African cricket team in June 2011, and he stepped down in August 2013.[1] For a brief period in 2024, he also coached thePakistan national cricket team.
In February 2026, Kirsten joined theNamibia national cricket team as a consultant for their2026 ICC Men's T20 World Cup campaign, specifically providing strategic insight into Indian playing conditions.[2]
Kirsten made his Test debut againstAustralia inMelbourne in 1993. He retired from international cricket in 2004 after crafting a match-winning 76 in his final innings, againstNew Zealand. Against the same country, he had made history by becoming the first-ever Protea to play in 100 Test matches.
Over the years, Kirsten gained a reputation as being a sturdy batsman in both Test cricket and One Day cricket. He could up the tempo of an innings if he needed to, but more often than not he simply waited for the bad ball in test cricket. He was also a reliable fielder. Kirsten held the South African records for most runs and centuries in a Test career, before both were surpassed byJacques Kallis. He was the first Test batsman to make hundreds against each of the other 9 Test nations. He scored 275 runs againstEngland as a result of batting for over14+1⁄2 hours as South Africa followed on at Kingsmead in Durban, it still stands as the second-longest innings (in terms of duration) in Test history.[3]
The high score was later surpassed byGraeme Smith when he made 277 against England in 2003. He still holds the record for highest innings by a South African in a One Day International; 188 not-out made against theUnited Arab Emirates during the1996 World Cup, which is the tenth[4] highest innings of all time in One Day International cricket, and thethird-highest score in World Cup cricket history. This record stood until it was surpassed byChris Gayle who scored 215 against Zimbabwe in2015. Later, that record was surpassed byMartin Guptill who scored 237* against theWest Indies in the quarter-finals of that very World Cup.
After retirement, Kirsten organised his own cricket academy.[5] In November 2007, it emerged that Kirsten was a candidate for the vacant post of coach of theIndia team.[6] TheBCCI offered him a two-year contract for the post, and despite voicing reservations[7] about concerns he had about having the full support of the Indian players, he confirmed he would be taking the job on 4 December.[8]
Kirsten officially started as a coach on 1 March 2008. However, he travelled toAustralia with India beforehand during the test series. His first full series in charge was against his home country, South Africa in March–April 2008 which was drawn 1–1. Also, he coached India to the finals of theKitply Cup and2008 Asia Cup (India lost both the finals). During his tenure as Coach of India, the Indian cricket team won a home series against Australia beating them 2–0. Apart from clinching theBorder–Gavaskar Trophy, he also coached India to its first bilateral series win in Sri Lanka againstSri Lanka and India's firstTest andOne-Day International series victories againstNew Zealand in New Zealand after 40 years. India also won theCompaq Cup, defeating Sri Lanka in the finals on 14 September 2009 by 46 runs. A highly accomplished batsman himself, he brought in a considerable amount of improvement in the batting performances, which was largely associated with his ability to instill better confidence among younger players.
Kirsten was praised by all players for improving/enhancing their playing techniques, motivating them and discussing tactics that can be deployed on the field. The results could be clearly seen within months. He was considered the key force behind the clearly visible performance improvement in all players. In 2010, prior to the start of India's tour of South Africa, Indian captainM.S. Dhoni described him as "The best thing to happen to Indian cricket."[9]
In 2017, Kirsten spoke to HBR about the qualities of a great coach, coaching a young team, and learning from one's mistakes. Some edited excerpts of his interview are online.[10]
After the tour of South Africa, which India drew 1–1 in the Test series and lost 3–2 in ODIs, the BCCI announced that Kirsten would not renew his contract because of family commitments. Kirsten had often stated that he wanted to spend time with his two growing sons, Joshua and James, and his wife. He had also stated that he felt three years away from home was long enough. Immediately after the announcement Kirsten was linked with joining South Africa as their coach as the South Africa coachCorrie van Zyl had also announced that his contract would end after the World Cup.[11]
Kirsten ended his tenure as coach after India won the2011 Cricket World Cup defeating Sri Lanka by 6 wickets and 10 balls to spare on 2 April 2011 atWankhede Stadium inMumbai,India.[12] During the celebration, he was carried around the ground bySuresh Raina,Yusuf Pathan andVirat Kohli to show their respect.
On 5 June 2011, Kirsten was appointed the full-time coach of the South Africa national cricket team for a term period of two years. His first decision was to nameAB de Villiers as the new captain for the limited-overs game, replacingGraeme Smith who remained the Test side captain. Kirsten began his term as a coach on 1 August and his first assignment was a home series against Australia. He took over fromCorrie van Zyl, who was an interim coach for 14 months afterMickey Arthur resigned following the home series against England in 2009–10. Under Kirsten, in August 2012, the South African team reached number 1 in the ICC Test rankings, by defeating England 2–0.
Kirsten did not renew his contract with Cricket South Africa (CSA) and stepped down as the coach of the national team in August 2013 citing family commitments.[1]
On 3 April 2017, Kirsten was appointed head coach of the men'sHobart Hurricanes cricket team. The Hobart Hurricanes areTasmania's professional T20 cricket club in the AustralianBig Bash League.
In January 2018,Royal Challengers Bangalore appointed Kirsten as their batting coach.[13] In August 2018, he was appointed as head coach of RCB following the sacking of their previous coachDaniel Vettori for the2019 Indian Premier League .[14]
In January 2022, Kirsten was appointed batting coach and mentor of newly formedGujarat Titans.[15]
Following the dismissal ofChris Silverwood due to theEngland Cricket Team's 4–0 defeat in the2021-22 Ashes series, Kirsten emerged as a favourite for the role of Men's Test Head Coach having previously been linked with the England Cricket Team prior to Silverwood's appointment in 2019.[16][17][18] The role was instead given toBrendon McCullum.[19]
In April 2024, thePakistan Cricket Board (PCB) announced Kristen as the head coach ofPakistan national cricket team in thelimited overs cricket for a two-year period.[20] In October 2024, he resigned from his position over differences with the PCB on the merit selection of squads.[21]
In 2007, Kirsten joinedPaddy Upton and Dale Williams to form a company called Performance Zone.[22] The focus of the company is to work with individuals and teams in business and sport, bringing out their clients' best performance. When Kirsten was appointed Indian coach and Upton as Indian mental conditioning coach on a two-year contract, they decided to continue the business. Its first project post Kirsten taking on the Indian coach role has been the creation of garykirsten.com.[23]
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| Preceded by | Head coach of Indian national cricket team 2008–2011 | Succeeded by |
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