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

He scored 275 runs against England as a result of batting for over 14+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.

He 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[3] highest innings of all time in One Day International cricket, and the third-highest score in World Cup cricket history.

[5] The BCCI offered him a two-year contract for the post, and despite voicing reservations[6] about concerns he had about having the full support of the Indian players, he confirmed he would be taking the job on 4 December.

During his tenure as Coach of India, the Indian cricket team won a home series against Australia beating them 2–0.

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.

[9] 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.

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.

He took over from Corrie van Zyl, who was an interim coach for 14 months after Mickey 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.

[14] Following the dismissal of Chris Silverwood due to the England Cricket Team's 4–0 defeat in the 2021-22 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.