By Staff Reporter
LAHORE: Pakistan cricket has undergone a dramatic shake-up after the Pakistan Cricket Board released seven Test squad members, including senior figures Mohammad Rizwan, Imam-ul-Haq and Salman Ali Agha, following a chastening series defeat to England.
The overhaul, confirmed by the PCB on Monday, comes with the tourists already beaten in the three-match series and facing a must-win final Test in Birmingham with an almost entirely reshaped touring party.
Also released from the squad were Ali Usman, Aamir Jamal, Muhammad Awais Zafar and Khurram Shahzad, with the board citing the need for fresh options after Pakistan’s batting and bowling repeatedly failed to trouble an increasingly dominant England side.
The changes follow a chastening run of results for Babar Azam’s side, who lost the second Test at Lord’s by 194 runs having already been thrashed by an innings and 103 runs in the series opener at Headingley. That result left England 2-0 up with a match to spare, and the third Test, beginning September 9 in Birmingham, now carries only pride for the visitors.
In place of the departing seven, the PCB has drafted in seven replacements, five of whom are uncapped at Test level. Saim Ayub, who has played eight Tests, and Abdullah Fazal, capped twice, are the two experienced additions recalled to the squad.
The uncapped contingent is led by Arafat Minhas, a left-arm spinning all-rounder who already has three ODI and four T20I caps to his name. He is joined by left-arm quick Mohammad Imran Jr, wicketkeeper-batter Saad Baig — fresh from being named Player of the Tournament in the 2025-26 Quaid-i-Azam Trophy — and two right-arm pace-bowling all-rounders, Mohammad Imran, known widely as Imran Randhawa, and Razaullah.
A PCB statement said the new arrivals would link up with the squad in the build-up to the Birmingham Test, with selectors clearly eager to inject fresh energy into a touring party that has struggled for consistency throughout the series.
The changes were not confined to the playing group. Test head coach Sarfaraz Ahmed and bowling coach Umar Gul have both left their posts, with white-ball head coach Mike Hesson stepping up to take charge of the Test side alongside Ashley Noffke, who joins the coaching staff in Gul’s place. The reshuffle signals a broader shift in Pakistan’s Test set-up beyond simply personnel on the field, with the board apparently keen to unify its coaching structure under Hesson as the series draws to its conclusion.
Pakistan’s revised squad for the Birmingham Test reads: Babar Azam (captain), Abdullah Fazal, Arafat Minhas, Azan Awais, Mohammad Abbas, Mohammad Ali, Muhammad Imran, Mohammad Imran Jnr, Muhammad Ghazi Ghori (wicketkeeper), Razaullah, Saad Baig (wicketkeeper), Saim Ayub, Sajid Khan, Saud Shakeel, Shan Masood and Ubaid Shah.
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