Pakistan are under pressure after their second consecutive defeat against England in the ongoing three-match Test series. In a new development, the team management has released three senior players, Mohammad Rizwan, Salman Ali Agha and Imam-ul-Haq, ahead of the third and final Test against the host nation starting September 9. The management spoke to the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) before taking action against the non-performers. Poor form, fitness issues and disciplinary matters have impacted Pakistan.
The visitors are 0-2 down in the bilateral assignment against the English team. They have lost five of the last six Test matches, with the only victory coming against the West Indies. According to sources close to the team management, the decision-makers were not satisfied with the effort of Agha, Rizwan and Imam, with all three struggling to be among the runs in the current WTC cycle. Pakistan are already out of the WTC final race.
The management has recalled Saim Ayub and Abdullah Fazal for the third Test in Birmingham. Pacers Razaullah Khan and Mohammad Imran, spinner Arafat Minhas and wicketkeeper Rohail Nazir will also join the team in England if their visas are approved in time.
PCB has also made a change to the coaching staff, with Mike Hesson, who is the head coach in the white-ball formats, being told to take charge of the Test team with immediate effect. The former New Zealand coach is already in England and is expected to link up with the squad soon.
He will be Pakistan’s Test head coach for the remaining matches in the WTC 2025-27 campaign, with the team set to take on Sri Lanka in a two-Test series in November and two more five-day games in New Zealand next year. Sarfaraz Ahmed and Umar Gul, who are the current Test coach and bowling coach, have been sidelined, although they will remain with the team.
The shake-up in the middle of the series is not new in international cricket. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) did something similar in 2014, when Ravi Shastri, Bharat Arun, R Sridhar and Sanjay Bangar were added to the support staff in the middle of the England tour. The coaching staff headed by Duncan Fletcher was sidelined. However, the decision was taken after India lost the Test series 1-3. The new members joined the national squad before the ODI series, while Pakistan added a new member to the staff midway through the Test series.
In 11 innings, Rizwan has managed 283 runs at an average of 25.72, including two fifties. Agha has accumulated 221 runs at 24.55, while Imam posted 178 runs at 22.25.
Pakistan’s batting average of 23.92 is the worst among the WTC teams since January 2025. They are last in the WTC table, following their winless run in the last 18 Tests in SENA countries since 2018. They have lost 16 and drawn two. They won a Test at Lord’s in May 2018.
The latest defeat at Lord’s is their 10th defeat in the last 11 away red-ball matches. In 473 Tests so far, Pakistan have won 153 and lost 154.