Jason Gillespie claims he was reduced to feeling like a warm-up assistant and left blindsided at times by Pakistan officials before quitting as the country's Test coach.
The former Australian Test quick walked away from his role as Pakistan's head coach last week, just eight months into a two-year contract.
Pakistan claimed a come-from-behind Test series win over England during Gillespie's tenure, and an ODI series victory in Australia while he filled in as white-ball mentor.
But he also had selection duties completely taken away from him mid-tenure, and was then taken by surprise when compatriot Tim Neilsen was removed as assistant.
"That was the straw that broke the camel's back," Gillespie said on ABC.
"As a head coach, you like to have clear communication with your employer. And I was completely and utterly blindsided.
"I had absolutely zero communication from anyone about that.
"After a number of other things that had gone on in the previous few months ... I thought, well, 'I'm not really sure if they actually really want me to do this job or not'."
Gillespie said he believed Nielsen had made significant inroads with the Pakistan team, to the point where they out-fielded England in their Test series.
The 71-Test paceman also believed he had the potential to turn Pakistan into a powerhouse, with cricket the No.1 sport in a country of 250 million people.
But off the field, his trust with officials was gradually eroded.
He grew concerned when he said he was informed of a new selection panel - that did not feature him - via text message during the Test series against England.
The 49-year-old said he was then left to ask selectors when he would learn what his team was, not knowing the make up of the XI on match eve.
He then believed his job was made untenable once the decision was made to remove Nielsen, prompting him to resign ahead of next week's first Test in South Africa.
Gillespie's exit followed that of white-ball coach Gary Kirsten in October, leaving Aqib Javed as interim coach in all formats.
"My opportunity to be able to help was severely diminished by a reduced role," Gillespie said.
"In essence, I felt I was basically hitting catches. And that was about it on the morning of a game.
"You want to be able to have clear communication with ... selectors, knowing what the team is as head coach at least the day before the game.
"Those sorts of things prove to be quite difficult, and that made things a lot more difficult to be able to do my job effectively."
