Gary Kirsten was one of the outstanding opening batsmen produced by South Africa in the 1990s and delivered remarkable performances during that era. He managed to maintain a batting average above 40 in both Test and One Day International formats.

As a coach, he worked with the India national cricket team from 2008 to 2011 and stepped down after guiding the team to victory in the 2011 Cricket World Cup. After that, he served as the head coach of the South Africa national cricket team until 2013, during which period South Africa rose to the No.1 position in Test cricket.

From 2017 to 2021, he worked as a coach with franchise teams including Hobart Hurricanes, Royal Challengers Bangalore, and Gujarat Titans. In 2024, he was appointed as the coach for the limited-overs teams of the Pakistan national cricket team, but he resigned after six months following major structural changes made within Pakistan’s squads. During the recent World Cup, he also served as a specialist coach for the Namibia national cricket team.