Pakistan Overhauls Test Squad and Coaches Before Edgbaston Finale

Pakistan have made sweeping changes to their Test squad and coaching staff after losing the first two matches of their series in England. BBC Sport and Dawn reported that the Pakistan Cricket Board released head coach Sarfaraz Ahmed, bowling coach Umar Gul and seven players before the third and final Test at Edgbaston, which is scheduled to begin on September 9.

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England secured the series with two decisive victories. Pakistan lost the opener at Headingley by an innings and 103 runs, then suffered a 194-run defeat at Lord's. Those results gave England an unassailable 2-0 lead and prompted the mid-tour overhaul before the teams travel to Birmingham.

The seven players released are Mohammad Rizwan, Imam-ul-Haq, Salman Ali Agha, Ali Usman, Aamir Jamal, Muhammad Awais Zafar and Khurram Shahzad. BBC Sport reported that five of them had appeared in the series, while Jamal and Zafar were sent home without playing in either of the first two Tests.

Mike Hesson, already Pakistan's white-ball coach, will replace Sarfaraz for the remainder of the Test tour. Former Australia seamer Ashley Noffke will take over from Gul as bowling coach. Dawn reported that the PCB statement described Sarfaraz and Gul as having been released, but provided no reason for the decisions or detail about any meetings behind them.

Seven players have been called into the squad. Saim Ayub and Abdullah Fazal bring previous Test experience, while Arafat Minhas, Mohammad Imran Jnr, Saad Baig, Imran Randhawa and Razaullah are uncapped at Test level. Dawn identified Minhas as a left-arm spin-bowling all-rounder, Imran as a left-arm fast bowler, Baig as a wicketkeeper-batter, and Randhawa and Razaullah as pace-bowling all-rounders.

Babar Azam remains captain of the updated group for Edgbaston. The retained squad also includes Abdullah Shafique, Azan Awais, Mohammad Abbas, Mohammad Ali, Mohammad Ghazi Ghori, Sajid Khan, Saud Shakeel, Shan Masood and Ubaid Shah. The changes leave Pakistan with a substantially different playing pool for the final Test, although the PCB had not announced a starting XI in the reporting available on Tuesday.