If anyone needs to understand the Pakistan cricket team and its management’s mindset better, the only way to do it is not to use one’s brain to do so, because it is mess and confusion out there. The two heavy losses to England in the ongoing Test series, in which Pakistan National Cricket Team played like certified minnows now has resulted into ultimate overhaul of the team, stating their case of chaos with one match still to go in a 3-match series.
What is named as a hard call taken by the Pakistan Cricket team to in order to improve their play vs England at the moment seems a mockery set by the board and the management, as PCB sends Mohammad Rizwan, Imam-ul-Haq back home after the England disaster, replacing coach Sarfaraz Ahmed with Mike Hesson as a new red ball coach.
Mike Hesson takes charge of struggling Pakistan Test side amid mass changes
Pakistan have taken instant and dramatic action after back-to-back thrashings by England, ousting head coach Sarfaraz Ahmed and sending seven squad members home. The Pakistan Cricket Board has come up with a major overhaul in Pakistan Test team management, with Sarfaraz Ahmed and Umar Gul expected to be relieved. Mike Hesson and Ashley Noffke have been asked to take over the coaching assignments of the red-ball team as well. Highly placed sources confirm that the current Test coaching duo of Sarfaraz Ahmed and Umar Gul will no longer be part of the red-ball setup.
Amid debates over whether it is one of the country’s worst ever sides, the Pakistan Cricket Board has provided its own answer ahead of the third Test at Edgbaston – parachuting white-ball coach Mike Hesson to replace Sarfaraz and radically changing the playing group. The chaotic developments also see bowling coach Umar Gul stand down, with former Australian international Ashley Noffke stepping in alongside New Zealander Hesson.
Sarfaraz Ahmed, the former captain who led Pakistan to the Champions Trophy 2017, was appointed as head coach of the Test team, with his former teammate Umar Gul joining him as bowling coach. However, after the recent 0-2 drubbing at the hands of England, the PCB is mulling over sacking the Test team’s head coach Sarfaraz Ahmed, who is his previous media interaction, said that he will take responsibility of team’s poor performance.
White-ball head coach Mike Hesson is likely to be given responsibility for the Test side as well. Insiders said that white-ball head coach Mike Hesson has reportedly been told by the PCB to look after the red-ball team as well. It is expected that Hesson will be part of the Pakistan dressing room for the third Test at Edgbaston.
Mike Hesson, who has been serving as Pakistan’s white-ball head coach since 2025-present, was initially called to London with High Performance Director Aaqib Javed to support the team after batting collapses in England. His impressive white-ball record – winning two T20I tri-series and losing just one of six bilateral T20I series – has convinced the board to hand him the longer format too.
Former Australian pacer Ashley Noffke has been named as the bowling coach to assist new white-ball head coach Mike Hesson. Noffke, who has built a solid reputation as a coach in the Big Bash League with Brisbane Heat, was earlier appointed as interim bowling coach for the Bangladesh T20 series, where Azhar Mahmood was dropped from the support staff. He will now be elevated as the full-time red-ball bowling coach, replacing Umar Gul.
Sources inside PCB state that the official announcement is expected after the conclusion of the ongoing England tour. The board is reportedly already in talks with former players Younis Khan and Mohammad Hafeez for other key posts, indicating a wider clear-out.
Pakistan takes a bold step to axe as many as seven players before the 3rd Test
The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) on Monday evening made a significant overhaul to its Test squad ahead of the third and final match against England, releasing seven players following the conclusion of the Lord’s Test. Mohammad Rizwan, Imam-ul-Haq, Salman Ali Agha, Ali Usman, Aamir Jamal, Muhammad Awais Zafar and Khurram Shahzad have been released from the squad following the 194-run defeat in the second Test.
Mohammad Rizwan has had a tour to forget, scoring just 61 runs in four innings, while Imam faced a calf strain in the Lord’s Test and didn’t bat in either of the innings. However, much has been said about him, and there are also allegations of the left-hander possibly faking an injury. Agha, who led Pakistan in the first Test in the absence of Babar, was dropped for the Lord’s fixture.
The axed players include Salman Ali Agha – who captained the first Test in Leeds – experienced wicketkeeper Mohammad Rizwan and opener Imam-ul-Haq who surprisingly declined to bat in either innings at Lord’s due to a low-grade calf strain. Seamer Khurram Shahzad and spinner Ali Usman, who have both taken six wickets across two appearances, have also been deemed expendable alongside unused squad members Aamir Jamal and Muhammad Awais Zafar.
The PCB has simultaneously brought in seven replacements, including five players yet to make their Test debuts and two cricketers with experience in the longest format. Saim Ayub is the most prominent name among the additions.
Saim Ayub, who played all three Tests against England on home soil in 2024, comes in as a batting replacement and opener Abdullah Fazal is back after featuring against Bangladesh in May. The left-handed batter Saim Ayub has already played eight Tests for Pakistan and returns to the squad as the team prepares for the final game of the series. Abdullah Fazal, who has two Test appearances to his name, has also been added to the group.
All-rounder Arafat Minhas has represented Pakistan in seven white-ball matches, but left-arm fast bowler Mohammad Imran Jnr, teenage wicketkeeper Saad Baig, Mohammad Imran and Razaullah are all uncapped. The PCB has also included Arafat Minhas, a left-arm spin-bowling all-rounder who has represented Pakistan in three ODIs and four T20Is. His inclusion gives the team another option with both bat and ball as Pakistan assess their combination for the third Test.
Four uncapped players have also earned call-ups. Left-arm fast bowler Mohammad Imran Jnr is part of the revised squad, while wicketkeeper-batter Saad Baig has been rewarded for an impressive domestic campaign. Baig was named Player of the Tournament in the 2025-26 Quaid-e-Azam Trophy.
The other two additions are right-arm pace-bowling all-rounders Muhammad Imran and Razaullah. The changes extend beyond the playing group, with Pakistan also making alterations to their support staff. Former captain Sarfaraz Ahmed (head coach of Tests) and Umar Gul (bowling coach) have been released, while Mike Hesson and Ashley Noffke will join the backroom team.
Pakistan’s dismal show against England hits a new low in the Test series
The visitors have already gone down 0-2 in the three-match series, and they can only play for pride in the third and final Test in Birmingham, beginning September 9. The first Test ended in three days while the second went to four only because rain played spoilsport on Day 3 at Lord’s. Pakistan are yet to breach the 200-run mark even once in the entire series. Babar Azam was made to look like a novice in the second innings of the Lord’s Test where he was bounced out by Jofra Archer.
It continues a messy trip by Pakistan that has seen them fail to pass 200 in any of their four innings with the bat. Their fielding has similarly been abject at times, while 36-year-old Mohammad Abbas, who claimed nine wickets at Lord’s, has practically been a one-man attack in seamer-friendly conditions. Pakistan’s batting has been one of the biggest concerns during the series. The visitors were bowled out for 194 while chasing 389 in the second innings at Lord’s, with Saud Shakeel providing their strongest resistance before being caught on the boundary for 97.
Shakeel’s dismissal ended Pakistan’s hopes of an unlikely fightback and left him agonisingly short of a century. His 97 is the highest individual score by either team in the series so far. England needed only 18 wickets to complete their 194-run victory, with Imam unable to bat again after suffering a calf injury on the opening day.
The victory also gave England their first Test series win since December 2024 and extended Pakistan’s struggles with the bat. Sarfaraz had previously admitted that the team’s inability to spend enough time at the crease was a major concern
Things have been no better thought through off the field either, with the Pakistan Cricket Board lodging a complaint with broadcasters Sky Sports during the second Test after an interview with Imran Khan’s sons – one that highlighted the former Pakistan prime minister’s ongoing health issues in prison – was aired. In doing so, the PCB succeeded in bringing far more attention to the matter.
The Pakistan squad are due to be granted an audience with King Charles this week at Clarence House, though it is unclear how many of the revamped squad will be on hand for the 15-minute engagement.
Updated Pakistan squad for the third and final Test:Â Babar Azam (captain), Abdullah Fazal, Abdullah Shafique, Arafat Minhas, Azan Awais, Mohammad Abbas, Mohammad Ali, Muhammad Imran, Mohammad Imran Jnr, Muhammad Ghazi Ghori (wicket-keeper), Razaullah, Saad Baig (wicket-keeper), Saim Ayub, Sajid Khan, Saud Shakeel, Shan Masood and Ubaid Shah
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