Pakistan have not just tweaked their squad after Lord’s. They’ve torn it up.
Two crushing defeats to England — an innings-and-103-run thrashing at Leeds followed by a 194-run loss at Lord’s — have forced a sweeping mid-tour reset, with seven players released and the red-ball coaching staff stripped out before the third Test at Edgbaston.
The series stands at 0-2. Pakistan have now lost five of their last six Tests. The response from the Pakistan Cricket Board is as dramatic as the numbers suggest.
Seven players out as patience snaps
Former white-ball captain Salman Ali Agha, senior wicketkeeper-batter Mohammad Rizwan and opener Imam-ul-Haq headline the group told their tour is over. Ali Usman, Aamir Jamal, Muhammad Awais Zafar and Khurram Shahzad complete a list that underlines the depth of the clear-out.
In a statement confirming the changes, the PCB said seven players had been released from the Test squad after the Lord’s defeat, with seven replacements named — five uncapped at Test level and two with prior red-ball experience.
The decisions arrive after a week of fierce scrutiny. Imam, sidelined by a calf injury on the opening day at Lord’s and missing both innings, drew sharp criticism when he appeared on the outfield for warm-ups on the fourth morning. Rizwan, under pressure for a string of lean returns, did himself no favours in the second innings when he was trapped lbw playing a slog, a dismissal that intensified debate over his place.
This time, the debate has been settled for him.
Saim Ayub and Abdullah Fazal return, Minhas steps in
Into the chaos step familiar faces and fresh ones.
Test-capped batters Saim Ayub and Abdullah Fazal are recalled, while left-arm spin-bowling all-rounder Arafat Minhas joins them as Pakistan attempt to inject both energy and balance into a faltering side.
Saim has already played eight Tests, Abdullah two. Minhas brings international experience from three ODIs and four T20Is, and his left-arm spin offers a different angle for Edgbaston.
The PCB underlined that trio’s experience in its announcement, framing them as the senior element of a broader influx.
Four uncapped players handed a chance
Behind them, the rebuild runs even deeper.
Four players without a Test cap are drafted in: left-arm fast bowler Mohammad Imran Jnr, wicketkeeper-batter Saad Baig, and right-arm pace-bowling all-rounders Mohammad Imran — also known as Imran Randhawa — and Razaullah.
Baig arrives with domestic pedigree, having been named player of the tournament in the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy 2025-26, a detail the PCB was quick to highlight. Imran Jnr adds another left-arm seam option, while Randhawa and Razaullah give Pakistan two seam-bowling all-rounders in a format where that role has often been a missing piece.
This is not a gentle introduction. Their first taste of Test cricket, if selected, will come in a pressure-cooker match against an England side already in full control of the series.
Sarfaraz Ahmed and Umar Gul removed from red-ball roles
The shake-up does not stop at the dressing room door.
Red-ball head coach Sarfaraz Ahmed and bowling coach Umar Gul have both been released from their roles mid-tour. The PCB confirmed that white-ball head coach Mike Hesson and Ashley Noffke will take over backroom responsibilities for the remainder of the England series.
Hesson, already in charge of Pakistan’s white-ball setup, now inherits a Test side in freefall. Noffke steps into a bowling unit that has struggled to sustain pressure across sessions in English conditions.
It is a bold move: red-ball specialists out, white-ball leadership pushed into the breach with a single Test left on this tour.
Edgbaston becomes a test of character
From here, there is no hiding place.
Pakistan head to Edgbaston for the third Test, starting September 9, with a reshaped squad, a reconfigured staff, and a series already lost. Pride is on the line. So is the direction of their red-ball cricket.
A team that arrived in England searching for answers now finds itself asking a different question: with reputations already on the scrapheap, who among this new-look group is ready to start writing the next chapter?
