Pakistan interim head coach Mike Hesson has defended the team’s sweeping changes ahead of the third Test against England, saying his players are accustomed to dealing with a certain level of “chaos” after seven players were dropped or released from the touring squad.
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Pakistan have struggled badly in the first two Tests of the series, prompting major changes to both the squad and coaching setup. Former head coach Sarfaraz Ahmed was replaced by New Zealander Hesson, who normally serves as Pakistan’s white-ball coach.
Hesson had been in Japan preparing for the Asian Games and was originally scheduled to travel to the United Kingdom (UK) only to attend an audience with King Charles. He was subsequently placed in temporary charge of the Test side ahead of the third match.
The third Test is scheduled to begin at Edgbaston on Wednesday, September 9, at 11am BST.
Speaking about the sudden changes, Hesson acknowledged that the past few days had been difficult for the Pakistan squad.
“I was heading over to see the King and be part of a nice occasion,” Hesson said. “That got expedited.”
He added that the team environment had been challenging, with players arriving and departing from the hotel as the squad was reshaped.
“The guys are probably more used to a little bit of chaos than I am,” Hesson said, while acknowledging that the players had been “incredibly disappointed” by the results.
According to Hesson, the squad had to quickly move beyond the disappointment and focus on the third Test.
“They’ve been really good over the past couple of days,” he said.
Three senior players – Imam-ul-Haq, Salman Ali Agha and wicketkeeper Mohammad Rizwan – had already been removed from the squad before Hesson took charge.
Hesson then assessed Pakistan’s bowling options and made further changes based on the conditions expected at Edgbaston.
Spinner Ali Usman and seamer Khurram Shahzad, who featured in the first two Tests, were released. Aamir Jamal and Mohammad Awais Jafar, who had not played during the tour, were also let go.
Hesson said his priority was to build a more balanced squad capable of providing greater variety in Pakistan’s attack.
“Pakistan is known for the pace, unusual actions, mystery spin – we haven’t really been able to present any of that,” he said.
Batters Saim Ayub and Abdullah Fazal, both of whom have previous Test experience, have been added to the squad.
Five uncapped players have also received call-ups: spin-bowling all-rounder Arafat Minhas, left-arm seamer Mohammed Imran Jr, wicketkeeper Said Baig, and all-rounders Mohammad Imran and Razaullah.
Hesson said the changes were made not only with the third Test in mind but also to give Pakistan greater flexibility in its bowling options.
“I don’t think anyone wants these to happen in the middle of a series, clearly not,” he said.
“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.”
Hesson also rejected reports that Salman Ali Agha had refused to attend the meeting with King Charles after being dropped from the Pakistan squad.
Salman, Pakistan’s T20 captain under Hesson, led the Test side in the series opener at Headingley because Babar Azam was unavailable due to injury. He was subsequently left out of the playing XI for the second Test before being removed from the touring squad.
Hesson explained that Salman, Imam-ul-Haq and Rizwan were removed from the list of attendees for the royal audience because they had already been released from the squad before Hesson arrived.
A Pakistan official later confirmed that the four players released after Hesson took charge were still able to attend the meeting with King Charles.
“I know there’s been a void in news, but people are just making up stories,” he said.
He explained that the three players had been informed before the royal event that they would no longer attend.
“Someone has just made something up,” Hesson said. “For me, that’s unacceptable journalism.”
Pakistan trained at Edgbaston’s indoor centre after wet weather affected conditions in Birmingham.
Four of the newly called-up players joined the training session, while three more were expected to link up with the squad later.
With Pakistan trailing heavily after the opening two Tests, Hesson now faces the task of stabilising the team and finding the right combination for the third Test at Edgbaston.
