Pakistan Cricket Board cuts seven players and fires head coach Sarfaraz Ahmed after 2-0 Test series loss to England

The Pakistan Cricket Board announced Monday, August 31, that it has released seven players and two coaches from its Test squad in England, a mid-series overhaul that even critics inside Pakistan cricket are calling unprecedented.

The move follows a 194-run defeat to England at Lord's on Sunday, August 30, which put Pakistan down 0-2 in the three-match series after an innings-and-103-run loss in the opening Test at Headingley, according to the Times of India. Pakistan has now lost five of its last six Tests.

Who's out

The seven players released are former white-ball captain Salman Ali Agha, wicketkeeper-batter Mohammad Rizwan, opener Imam-ul-Haq, Ali Usman, Aamir Jamal, Muhammad Awais Zafar and Khurram Shahzad, according to the PCB's own statement, as reported by Gulf News and the Times of India. Rizwan and Imam were both part of the batting lineup that has struggled all series. Jamal and Zafar were sent home without appearing in a match at all, according to the BBC.

The senior batting trio's recent numbers explain part of the decision. Rizwan has scored 283 runs in 11 innings at an average of 25.72, Salman Ali Agha 221 runs at 24.55, and Imam-ul-Haq 178 runs at 22.25 across eight innings, according to figures cited by archyde. Since January 2025, Pakistan has posted the worst batting average of any World Test Championship team at 23.92, per the same figures.

The Lord's loss also dropped Pakistan's all-time Test win-loss ratio below 1.0 for the first time since 1987, with 153 wins against 154 losses across 473 matches, archyde reported. Pakistan has already been eliminated from World Test Championship final contention this cycle and has lost 10 of its last 11 away Tests.

Who's in

The PCB named seven replacements for the third and final Test, which is scheduled to begin September 9 in Birmingham at Edgbaston. Two carry prior Test experience: Saim Ayub, who has played eight Tests, and Abdullah Fazal, who has played two, according to the PCB statement carried by Siasat and the Times of India. Left-arm spin-bowling all-rounder Arafat Minhas, capped in three ODIs and four T20Is, also joins.

Four uncapped players round out the group: left-arm fast bowler Mohammad Imran Jnr, wicketkeeper-batter Saad Baig (who was named Player of the Tournament in the 2025-26 Quaid-e-Azam Trophy), and pace-bowling all-rounders Mohammad Imran (also known as Imran Randhawa) and Razaullah.

Coaching staff gutted too

Red-ball head coach Sarfaraz Ahmed and bowling coach Umar Gul have both been released, the PCB confirmed. White-ball head coach Mike Hesson and former Australia seamer Ashley Noffke will take over the Test setup for Edgbaston, according to the BBC and India Today. Archyde reported that Hesson is set to lead the red-ball squad through the rest of the current WTC cycle, including two Tests in Sri Lanka in November and two in New Zealand early next year.

The panic-button criticism

Former Pakistan captain and ex-PCB chairman Ramiz Raja told BBC Radio 5 Live the move signals dysfunction, not strategy. "I'm trying to convince myself this is all OK, but it is not," Raja said. "It just shows Pakistan cricket has hit a panic button. It's not good for the game, it's not good for the confidence of the players who have come in, or for the players who are left, because it makes you a selfish team. What is the guarantee they will get the results? Some of these guys have not played Test cricket. I've got no idea why this was done."

Raja's concern is fair on its face. Throwing five uncapped players into a dead rubber against an England side that has already won the series, while firing the coaching staff mid-tour, is a genuinely unusual gamble with no guaranteed payoff. But the counterpoint the numbers supply is also real. A team that has been bowled out for under 200 in all four innings of the series, per the BBC, and that just posted its worst multi-decade win-loss ratio, has little to lose by testing new options in a match that carries no series stakes.

The overhaul also lands amid a separate controversy over opener Imam-ul-Haq, who did not bat in either Lord's innings after reporting a calf injury on day one, then appeared for warm-ups on the fourth morning. Former England fast bowler Stuart Broad called the appearance "all for show" on television commentary, according to Siasat.

Babar Azam remains captain, having returned for his third stint in the role after replacing Shan Masood, Siasat noted. Whether the new-look squad and coaching staff can avoid a series whitewash at Edgbaston starting September 9 is the open question the PCB has now staked its credibility on.