27 Facts About Gary Kirsten

1.

Gary Kirsten was born on 23 November 1967 and is a South African cricket coach and former cricketer.

2.

Gary Kirsten has coached the Indian Cricket Team as well as the South African Cricket team.

3.

Gary Kirsten played 101 Test matches and 185 One Day Internationals for South Africa between 1993 and 2004, mainly as an opening batsman.

4.

Gary Kirsten was the coach of the Indian cricket team from 2008 to 2011, going on to win the 2011 Cricket World Cup.

5.

Gary Kirsten was appointed as the coach of the South African cricket team in June 2011, and he stepped down in August 2013.

6.

Gary Kirsten made his Test debut against Australia in Melbourne in 1993.

7.

Gary Kirsten retired from international cricket in 2004 after crafting a match-winning 76 in his final innings, against New Zealand.

8.

Gary Kirsten held the South African records for most runs and centuries in a Test career, before both were surpassed by Jacques Kallis.

9.

Gary Kirsten was the first Test batsman to make hundreds against each of the other 9 Test nations.

10.

Gary Kirsten scored 275 runs against England as a result of batting for over 14 and a half hours as South Africa followed on at Kingsmead in Durban, it still stands as the second-longest innings in Test history.

11.

Gary Kirsten still holds the record for highest innings by a South African in a One Day International; 188 not-out made against the United Arab Emirates during the 1996 World Cup, which is the tenth highest innings of all time in One Day International cricket, and the third-highest score in World Cup cricket history.

12.

In November 2007, it emerged that Gary Kirsten was a candidate for the vacant post of coach of the India team.

13.

Gary Kirsten officially started as a coach on 1 March 2008.

14.

Gary Kirsten is considered the key force behind the clearly visible performance improvement in all players.

15.

In 2017, Gary Kirsten spoke to HBR about the qualities of a great coach, coaching a young team, and learning from one's mistakes.

16.

Gary Kirsten often stated that he wanted to spend time with his two growing sons, Joshua and James, and his wife.

17.

Gary Kirsten has stated that he felt three years away from home was long enough.

18.

Immediately after the announcement Gary Kirsten was linked with joining South Africa as their coach as the South Africa coach Corrie van Zyl announced his contract would end after the World Cup as well.

19.

Gary Kirsten ended his tenure as coach after India won the 2011 Cricket World Cup defeating Sri Lanka by 6 wickets and 10 balls to spare on 2 April 2011 at Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai, India.

20.

Gary Kirsten cleared the air of any rumours about a renewal in contract by adopting a modest approach on his further availability as a coach to the Indian team by stating that he wanted to say goodbye to India to spend time with his family.

21.

On 5 June 2011, Gary Kirsten was appointed the full-time coach of the South Africa national cricket team for a term period of two years.

22.

Gary Kirsten did not renew his contract with Cricket South Africa and stepped down as the coach of the national team in August 2013 citing family commitments.

23.

On 3 April 2017, Gary Kirsten was appointed head coach of the men's Hobart Hurricanes cricket team.

24.

Gary Kirsten is reported to be a favourite for the job, along with former Zimbabwean player Andy Flower.

25.

In January 2022, Gary Kirsten was appointed batting coach and mentor of newly formed Gujarat Titans.

26.

In 2007, Gary Kirsten joined Paddy Upton and Dale Williams to form a company called Performance Zone.

27.

When Gary Kirsten was appointed Indian coach and Upton as Indian mental conditioning coach on a two-year contract, they decided to continue the business.