The 52-year-old will get his stint underway, first in an interim capacity, with the two-match Test series in South Africa.

Gillespie was appointed on a two-year term in April 2024, but quit after a few disagreements with the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), after they decided against renewing high-performance coach Tim Nielsen’s contract.

"The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has named Aqib Javed as interim red-ball head coach of the Pakistan men’s cricket team following the resignation of red-ball head coach Jason Gillespie," the Pakistan Cricket Board said in a release.

"Aqib’s first assignment as red-ball head-coach will be the two-match Test series against South Africa during the ongoing all-format tour. The first Test is scheduled at the SuperSport Park in Centurion from 26 to 30 December. The second Test will be played at the Newlands Cricket Ground in Cape Town from 3 to 7 January," the board added.

Pakistan are currently playing a three-match T20I series, and the T20Is will be followed by a three-match ODI series. 

South Africa lead the T20Is 1-0, and the second game is scheduled to be played at Supersport Park in Centurion, on Friday, December 13. 

Pakistan Test squad: Shan Masood (c), Saud Shakeel, Aamir Jamal, Abdullah Shafique, Babar Azam, Haseebullah, Kamran Ghulam, Khurram Shahzad, Mir Hamza, Mohammad Abbas, Mohammad Rizwan, Naseem Shah, Noman Ali, Saim Ayub, Salman Ali Agha