Pakistan Makes Major Changes After Lord’s Defeat: Seven Players and Coaches Removed
Pakistan have responded to a bruising tour of England with a sweeping reset, cutting seven players from their Test squad and removing both the head coach and bowling coach ahead of the final match of the series in Birmingham.
The decision comes in the shadow of back‑to‑back hammerings. An innings-and-103-run defeat at Headingley set the tone; a 194-run thrashing at Lord’s confirmed the gulf. With England already 2-0 up and the series gone, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has chosen upheaval over continuity.
Big names out, new faces in
Mohammad Rizwan, Imamul Haq and Salman Ali Agha headline the group released from the squad during the series. They are joined by Ali Usman, Aamir Jamal, Muhammad Awais Zafar and Khurram Shahzad, all told their services are no longer required for the third Test.
Seven replacements have been named. It is not a gentle tweak. Five of them have never played Test cricket.
Saim Ayub, who has eight caps, and Abdullah Fazal, with two, return to the Test setup and bring at least some experience to a dressing room suddenly stripped of senior figures. Around them, a clutch of fresh faces will try to inject energy into a side that has looked flat and out of ideas.
Among the uncapped group, Arafat Minhas stands out. The left-arm spin-bowling all-rounder has already featured for Pakistan in three ODIs and four T20Is and now finds the longest format opening up to him. Left-arm quick Mohammad Imran Jr. adds another angle to the pace stocks.
Behind the stumps, the PCB has turned to youth and form. Wicketkeeper-batter Saad Baig, named player of the tournament in the 2025-26 Quaid-i-Azam Trophy, earns a call-up on the back of domestic dominance. Two right-arm pace-bowling all-rounders, Mohammad Imran (also known as Imran Randhawa) and Razaullah, complete the list of uncapped inclusions.
All seven will link up with the squad before the third Test, scheduled for September 9 at Birmingham, walking straight into a series that has already slipped away.
Coaching shake-up on the back of heavy defeats
The clear-out has not stopped with the playing group. Test head coach Sarfaraz Ahmed and bowling coach Umar Gul have also been relieved of their duties.
Their exit underlines the level of dissatisfaction with how this tour has unfolded. Pakistan have been outplayed with bat and ball; the response from the board has been to change the voices in the dressing room.
White-ball head coach Mike Hesson and Ashley Noffke will now step across to bolster the Test backroom staff for Birmingham. It is a short turnaround and a demanding brief: lift a bruised side for a dead rubber against a rampant England.
A new-look squad for Birmingham
What emerges is a squad that looks very different from the one that started the series, with Babar Azam asked to lead a group heavy on promise and light on Test experience.
Updated Pakistan squad for the 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, Ubaid Shah.
Some of these names will be unknown outside domestic circles. That will change quickly if they stand up in English conditions under this kind of scrutiny.
The series is gone. The scoreboard damage cannot be repaired. What Pakistan can salvage in Birmingham is something less tangible but just as important: a hint that this brutal reset is the start of a new direction, not just the fallout from another painful tour of England.
