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For the remaining Test match against the England National Cricket Team at Edgbaston, Birmingham, the Pakistan National Cricket Team has announced a fresh squad on August 31, with Babar Azam as the captain of the team. The team management has reshaped their team after the defeats in Leeds and London.
It was previously widely reported that the Pakistan team management snubbed some of their senior cricketers from the Test squad. Former white-ball captain Salman Ali Agha, Mohammad Rizwan, and Imam-ul-Haq are the key players who have been dropped from the team. Alongside these three, Ali Usman, Aamir Jamal, Muhammad Awais Zafar, and Khurram Shahzad have also been dropped from the side, as the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has informed in their latest press release.
Pakistan drops seven cricketers from the Test squad to accommodate new talents
In most of the previously published reports, it was claimed that three players would like to be released. In reality, there are a total of seven players who are excluded from the team. In place of these seven players, the management has called up a bunch of seven cricketers in the Test team, only for the Birmingham Test, which will start on September 9.
PCB, in their media release,e has informed that among those cricketers who are included in the team, Saim Ayub, who has played eight Tests, Abdullah Fazal with the experience of playing two Test matches, and left-arm spin-bowling all-rounder Arafat Minhas, who played for Pakistan in the white-ball formats, are among the notable names.
Seven fresh talents have been included in the Test team for the Birmingham Test
Alongside Ayub, Minhas, and Fazal, left-arm fast bowler Mohammad Imran Jnr, wicketkeeper-batter Saad Baig, right-arm pace bowling all-rounders Mohammad Imran (also known as Imran Randhawa) and Razaullah are also included in the Test team. The cricket board mentioned that the newly added players will join the main team ahead of the Test match.
Updated Test squad for Birmingham Test:
Babar Azam (captain), Abdullah Fazal, 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
Mike Hesson is appointed as the new head coach of Pakistan's Test team
There are a few other changes in the Test team as well. After two brutal defeats against the England cricket team, the cricket board has sacked Sarfaraz Ahmed and Umar Gul as the Test team's head coach and bowling coach. Mike Hesson and Ashley Noffke will join the team as the replacements for Ahmed and Gul.
Under the coaching of Hesson, the Men in Green played some promising matches in the recent past. So, the Pakistan Cricket Board keeps its trust in the New Zealander and appoints him as the Test team head coach as well. Mike Hesson will remain in charge of the Test team for the remaining part of the ongoing World Test Championship 2025-27 (WTC 2025-27) cycle. Worth noting, the team has already been out of the race for the final of the Championship.
