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Pakistan interim coach Mike Hesson said his squad is used to chaos after seven players were dropped after Lord’s Test.
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The overhaul followed successive Test defeats to England, with Hesson replacing sacked head coach Sarfaraz Ahmed on short notice.
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Five uncapped players join the squad for Edgbaston, alongside experienced returnees Saim Ayub and Abdullah Fazal.
Mike Hesson breaks his silence after Pakistan sacks Sarfaraz Ahmed & drops 7 players before the Edgbaston Test vs England
Mike Hesson admitted his Pakistan squad has grown used to “chaos” after the touring party underwent a mind-boggling reshuffle, which saw seven players axed, seven new faces called up, and a head coach change thrown in for good measure; all just days before the series finale against England at Edgbaston.
Pakistan have been thoroughly outplayed in the first two Tests of this series, and the response from the top brass was swift and sweeping, both in terms of personnel and leadership. Sarfaraz Ahmed was removed as head coach, with New Zealander Hesson stepping into the role temporarily.
Hesson wasn’t even meant to be involved with the Test setup at this point. As Pakistan’s white-ball coach, he’d been out in Japan working on Asian Games preparations, and his only planned trip to the UK was for the squad’s meeting with King Charles, which went ahead on Wednesday.
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Those plans changed fast, and now he finds himself leading the Test side into the third match at Edgbaston, starting Wednesday, September 9.
Speaking about how sudden it all was, Hesson didn’t shy away from describing the disruption.
“I was heading over to see the King and be part of a nice occasion,” said Hesson. “That got expedited. The last couple of days have been challenging for being in a hotel with some players coming, some players going and then the arrival of everyone.
“The guys are probably more used to a little bit of chaos than I am. There’s no doubt they have been disappointed, incredibly disappointed. We’ve had to park that and go ‘righto, where to from here?’ They’ve been really good over the past couple of days.”
Selection calls were made before Mike Hesson arrived in England
Hesson clarified that some of the biggest calls had already been made before he even took charge. Imam-ul-Haq, Salman Ali Agha and wicketkeeper Muhammad Rizwan, arguably the squad’s three most senior names, were removed from the group prior to his arrival, meaning the decision to drop them wasn’t his to make.
Saim Ayub and Abdullah Fazal, both with prior Test experience, return to the fold. Alongside them come five uncapped players hoping to make their mark, including spin-bowling all-rounder Arafat Minhas, left-arm seamer Mohammed Imran Jr, wicketkeeper Said Baig, and all-rounders Mohammad Imran and Razaullah.
“When I took over, three players had already left the squad – Rizwan, Imam and Salman Ali Agha,” he said.
“From there it was a matter of trying to get a balanced squad for the third Test. I don’t think anyone wants these to happen in the middle of a series, clearly not.
“From my perspective, it’s about putting a balanced squad together, not only for this Test, so we actually have some variety in our attack. Pakistan is known for the pace, unusual actions, mystery spin – we haven’t really been able to present any of that.”
A gamble born out of desperation, not strategy
There’s a version of this story where wholesale changes mid-series look bold and decisive. This isn’t quite that version.
Axing three of your most experienced players, including your first-choice wicketkeeper, right in the middle of a Test series smells less like a calculated masterstroke and more like a panic button being smashed repeatedly.
Cricket teams rarely fix batting or bowling problems by throwing five uncapped players into a pressure-cooker Test at Edgbaston, especially against an England side that’s already 2-0 up and full of confidence.
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That said, Hesson’s explanation does carry some logic. Pakistan’s identity has traditionally been built around raw pace and unpredictable spin options, and if the current group wasn’t offering that variety, a reset of sorts was probably inevitable at some stage. The bigger concern is timing: doing this after two Tests rather than planning it in before the series began suggests reactive management rather than a well-thought-out strategy.
Results will be the only real judge here. If Pakistan’s inexperienced newcomers flop at Edgbaston, this will be remembered as a reckless shake-up born out of frustration rather than foresight. If they somehow pull off a spirited show, though, Hesson’s calm-in-chaos approach might just get retrospective praise it probably doesn’t fully deserve yet.
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Source: sports.yahoo.com
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