Pakistan’s chaotic red-ball reshuffle has taken another twist, with interim Test coach Mike Hesson making it clear he had nothing to do with the most eye-catching omissions.
Speaking in Birmingham on Friday, two days out from the third and final Test against England at Edgbaston, Hesson said three senior players – Mohammad Rizwan, Salman Ali Agha and Imam-ul-Haq – were already on their way home before he was even asked to take charge.
The backdrop is brutal. Pakistan have been outplayed and outgunned. England crushed them by an innings and 103 runs at Headingley, then tightened the screw with a 194‑run victory at Lord’s to wrap up the series 2-0 with a game to spare. The response from the Pakistan Cricket Board was swift and sweeping.
Seven players were released from the Test squad: Rizwan, Agha, Imam, Ali Usman, Aamir Jamal, Muhammad Awais Zafar and Khurram Shahzad. Head coach Sarfaraz Ahmed and bowling coach Umar Gul were also removed from their roles.
Into the vacuum stepped Hesson, handed the reins for the Edgbaston Test starting September 9.
“I really don’t know what happened there”
With speculation swirling around the decision to send home established names like Rizwan, Agha and Imam, Hesson moved quickly to draw a line between his appointment and the earlier cull.
“When they (Pakistan Cricket Board) told me if I could manage the side for the final Test, these three players (Rizwan, Agha and Imam) were already released from the squad and on their way home. So, I really don’t know what happened there,” Hesson told reporters.
The message was unambiguous: those calls were made before his watch began.
What he did accept, though, was responsibility for the next phase of selection.
“I was involved in the release of the rest of the players and the inclusion of some new players,” he said, confirming his hand in reshaping the group that will try to salvage pride in Birmingham.
From white-ball plans to red-ball fire-fight
The timing of Hesson’s elevation underlines how abruptly Pakistan’s plans have shifted.
He had been working with Pakistan’s white-ball setup, running a camp in Lahore before travelling to Japan for the Asian Games. His brief was limited-overs cricket, not an emergency rescue mission for a Test side reeling in England.
“We already had a white-ball camp in Lahore and I had just returned from Japan where the Asian Games are taking place, when I was asked if I could manage the red-ball squad,” he explained.
One week he was fine-tuning white-ball combinations; the next he was being asked to stabilise a Test team that had just been dismantled twice in succession.
The PCB has clearly gambled on a sharp reset rather than a gentle tweak. Senior figures have been sent home, support staff removed, and an interim coach dropped into the middle of an English tour with one match to change the tone.
Hesson has already hinted he wants more variety in the bowling attack. At Edgbaston, against an England side brimming with confidence, that wish will be tested immediately.
