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The Pakistan national cricket team has been hit by a massive crisis in the middle of the three-match Test series in England. After two heavy defeats, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has taken a shocking step by removing seven players and two coaches before the third and final Test at Edgbaston.
The unexpected decision came just a day after Pakistan lost the Lord’s Test by 194 runs and went 0-2 down in the ongoing three-match Test series against England.
The defeat was also Pakistan’s sixth loss in the current ICC World Test Championship cycle, leaving them at the bottom of the standings. Earlier, Aaqib Javed confirmed 'action' and 'inquiry' against Imam-ul-Haq over fake injury.
Pakistan makes massive mid-series changes
The Pakistan Cricket Board released seven players from the Test squad—Mohammad Rizwan, Imam-ul-Haq, Salman Ali Agha, Ali Usman, Aamir Jamal, Muhammad Awais Zafar, and Khurram Shahzad.
They have been replaced by Saim Ayub, Abdullah Fazal, and five other players. Five of the seven replacements are yet to play Test cricket, which makes the PCB move even more surprising.
Even the Test head coach Sarfaraz Ahmed and bowling coach Umar Gul have been released from their duties. White-ball coaches Mike Hesson and Ashley Noffke have now been brought in to take charge of the Test team for the Edgbaston Test, starting on September 9.
Pakistan players left stunned as PCB drops bombshell without warning
The biggest controversy is not only about the changes but also about how they were handled. As reported by The Telegraph of the UK, most of the players released from the Test squad reportedly did not know the move until messages started coming from friends and family on Monday evening.
Some players were spending their day off in London, while others were at the team hotel. They reportedly learned about their release after seeing messages and then the PCB's social media announcement. The sudden move sparked "shock and confusion" inside the Pakistan camp.
The report claimed, “At around 5pm on Monday, Pakistani players began receiving messages from friends and family, asking if they knew what was going on. The players, who were wandering around London on a day off or at the team hotel, replied that they had no idea what they meant. Team management had not told them beforehand.”
Pakistan’s drastic move raises eyebrows
The decision to release Aamir Jamal and Awais Zafar has raised further questions because neither player featured in the first two Tests against England. Jamal had only recently returned to the Test setup for Pakistan's tours of the West Indies and England.
Both Jamal and Zafar had played in the first Test against the West Indies in Tarouba, with Zafar making his Test debut. Ali Usman's release has also surprised many because he had produced a special performance at Headingley.
He took his first five-wicket haul in Test cricket in the second innings and became the first visiting spinner since 1972 to achieve the feat at the venue. Amid this, Salman Ali Agha is to rejoin the Pakistan Test team after being dropped.
Misbah-ul-Haq resigns as Pakistan chief selector
The crisis has now reached the selection committee as well. Misbah-ul-Haq has resigned from his role on the national selection committee following the major changes. He is also ready to step down from his batting consultant role at the National Cricket Academy in Lahore.
