Pakistan Overhauls Squad After Defeats in England
Pakistan have not just rung the changes. They’ve torn up the touring blueprint and started again.
In a stunning mid-series overhaul, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has sent seven players and two coaches home on the eve of the third and final Test against England, drafting in a fresh batch of faces in a last-ditch attempt to salvage pride from a bruising tour.
The decision, announced on Monday, comes in the wake of heavy defeats at Leeds and Lord’s that left Pakistan 2-0 down and out of the series, with only Birmingham left to navigate.
Seven Players Out, Seven In
Mohammad Rizwan, Imam-ul-Haq, Salman Ali Agha, Ali Usman, Aamir Jamal, Muhammad Awais Zafar and Khurram Shahzad have all been released from the squad. For a touring party already under scrutiny, it is a brutal cull.
In their place, the PCB has turned to a mix of youth, fringe talent and untested potential: Saim Ayub, Abdullah Fazal, Arafat Minhas, Saad Baig, Muhammad Randhawa, Razaullah and Mohammad Imran Jnr.
Five of the incoming players have already worn the Pakistan shirt in some format. Two have not played for the country at any level.
That pair, Muhammad Randhawa and Razaullah, arrive as complete international unknowns, thrust into the glare of a high-pressure Test in Birmingham with no prior experience of the national setup. It is a gamble that underlines just how shaken Pakistan’s think-tank has been by the first two Tests.
Saim Ayub and Abdullah Fazal bring at least some Test know-how. Ayub has featured in eight Tests, while Fazal has two caps to his name. Arafat Minhas, a left-arm spin-bowling all-rounder, has already appeared in three ODIs and four T20Is, and now finds the longest format opening up before him.
Joining them is left-arm fast bowler Mohammad Imran Jnr, wicketkeeper-batter Saad Baig — the standout performer and Player of the Tournament in the 2025-26 Quaid-e-Azam Trophy — and two right-arm pace-bowling all-rounders: Mohammad Imran, also known as Imran Randhawa, and Razaullah.
They will all link up with the squad ahead of the third Test at Birmingham, walking into a dressing room that has been shaken, reshaped and told, in no uncertain terms, that the status quo is over.
Coaching Staff Swept Aside
The shake-up has not stopped at the players.
Head coach Sarfaraz Ahmed and bowling coach Umar Gul have both been released from their roles mid-tour. The PCB has moved swiftly to install Mike Hesson as head coach and Ashley Noffke as bowling coach for the final Test.
For Pakistan to change both on-field personnel and the core of the coaching staff between the second and third Tests of a marquee series in England is rare, bordering on unprecedented. It speaks to the depth of dissatisfaction with the performances at Leeds and Lord’s, where Pakistan were outplayed and outthought.
Now, the dressing room will hear new voices, new plans, and a new tone — all with just one Test left to play.
A Squad Reborn for Birmingham
The updated Pakistan Test squad for the final match reads almost like the start of a new chapter rather than the end of a tour:
- 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
- Ubaid Shah
Babar Azam remains the constant at the centre of the storm, tasked with welding together a remodelled XI, integrating debutants and fringe players, and facing an England side already brimming with confidence.
The series is gone. The third Test at Birmingham now becomes something else entirely: a trial ground, a statement of intent, and perhaps the first glimpse of what Pakistan’s red-ball future is going to look like.
