Pakistan have ditched head coach Sarfaraz Ahmed and sent several squad members back home in a dramatic response to successive Test thrashings by England, officials announced Monday.
The tourists suffered an innings and 103-run loss in the series opener at Headingley before going down by 194 runs at Lord’s on Sunday as England took an unbeatable 2-0 lead in the three-match campaign.
The team has been labelled one of the country’s worst sides in decades and the Pakistan Cricket Board has now decided drastic action is required ahead of next month’s third Test at Edgbaston, bringing in white-ball coach Mike Hesson to replace former Pakistan captain Ahmed and making huge changes to the squad.
Mohammad Rizwan, Imam-ul-Haq, Salman Agha, Ali Usman, Aamer Jamal, Awais Zafar, and Khurram Shahzad are the seven players who have been released, according to a report on ESPNcricinfo.
“The five uncapped players who will be joining the squad ahead of the third Test, which begins on September 9, are Arafat Minhas, Mohammad Imran Jnr, Saad Baig, Mohammad Imran Randhawa, and Razaullah,” the report said.
Pakistan Test squad for Birmingham Test: Babar Azam (capt), Abdullah Fazal, Arafat Minhas, Azan Awais, Mohammad Abbas, Mohammad Ali, Muhammad Imran, Mohammad Imran Jnr, Muhammad Ghazi Ghori (wk), Razaullah, Saad Baig (wk) Saim Ayub, Sajid Khan, Saud Shakeel, Shan Masood and Ubaid Shah
Source: Khaleej Times