{"id":5508,"date":"2026-09-01T04:12:02","date_gmt":"2026-09-01T04:12:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pakistantimesusa.net\/?p=5508"},"modified":"2026-09-01T04:12:02","modified_gmt":"2026-09-01T04:12:02","slug":"pcb-replaces-seven-players-in-test-squad-after-series-loss-to-england","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pakistantimesusa.net\/?p=5508","title":{"rendered":"PCB replaces seven players in Test squad after series loss to England"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>The patience of Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) officials has reportedly run out over the team\u2019s below-par performance on the tour of England. In an emergency move, six cricketers have been called up from Pakistan, including Saim Ayub and Arafat Minhas.<\/p>\n<p>Meanwhile, questions are being raised over Imam-ul-Haq\u2019s \u201csuspicious injury.\u201d At Lord\u2019s, there were expectations that he would come out to bat in difficult circumstances, but despite receiving painkiller injections, he did not take part in the match.<\/p>\n<p>A decision has also been taken to send Imam-ul-Haq, Mohammad Rizwan, Salman Ali Agha and others back home for what has been described as irresponsible batting.<\/p>\n<p>Meanwhile, white-ball head coach Mike Hesson and Ashley Noffke will take charge for the third Test, while Sarfaraz Ahmed and Umar Gul have been released from the coaching staff.<\/p>\n<p>According to details, following Pakistan\u2019s defeat at Lord\u2019s and the loss of the series, the PCB took emergency measures, not only reshuffling the squad but also making changes to the coaching staff.<\/p>\n<div data-oembed-url=\"https:\/\/x.com\/TheRealPCBMedia\/status\/2094456033087525023\">\n<div class=\"twitter-tweet twitter-tweet-rendered\"><iframe id=\"twitter-widget-0\" class=\"\" title=\"X Post\" src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/embed\/Tweet.html?creatorScreenName=etribune&amp;dnt=true&amp;embedId=twitter-widget-0&amp;features=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%3D%3D&amp;frame=false&amp;hideCard=false&amp;hideThread=false&amp;id=2094456033087525023&amp;lang=en&amp;origin=https%3A%2F%2Ftribune.com.pk%2Fstory%2F2626749%2Fpcb-replaces-seven-players-in-squad-after-series-loss-to-england&amp;sessionId=77deca295db5ece27d4bf30dfa90a850c748c436&amp;siteScreenName=etribune&amp;theme=light&amp;widgetsVersion=6a3ad42b224df%3A1778106238597&amp;width=550px\" frameborder=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\" data-tweet-id=\"2094456033087525023\" data-mce-fragment=\"1\"><\/iframe><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>After the Lord\u2019s Test, the PCB announced that seven players would be released from the squad. They are Mohammad Rizwan, Imam-ul-Haq, Salman Ali Agha, Ali Usman, Aamer Jamal, Mohammad Owais Zafar and Khurram Shahzad.<\/p>\n<p>Five of their replacements have never played Test cricket, while two have already made their Test debuts. Batter Saim Ayub has played eight Tests, while Abdullah Fazal has featured in two.<\/p>\n<div id=\"div-gpt-story-2\" data-google-query-id=\"CLXyx7HBzJYDFZDqVgMdiH4FUQ\">\n<div id=\"google_ads_iframe_\/11952262\/tribune-sports-story-2_0__container__\"><iframe id=\"google_ads_iframe_\/11952262\/tribune-sports-story-2_0\" tabindex=\"0\" title=\"3rd party ad content\" name=\"google_ads_iframe_\/11952262\/tribune-sports-story-2_0\" width=\"728\" height=\"97\" frameborder=\"0\" marginwidth=\"0\" marginheight=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\" aria-label=\"Advertisement\" data-load-complete=\"true\" data-google-container-id=\"5\" data-mce-fragment=\"1\"><\/iframe><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>Left-arm spin-bowling all-rounder Arafat Minhas has represented Pakistan in three ODIs and four T20Is.<\/p>\n<p>The other four players are left-arm fast bowler Mohammad Imran Junior, wicketkeeper-batter and Player of the Tournament in the 2025\u201326 Quaid-e-Azam Trophy, Saad Baig, and right-arm fast-bowling all-rounders Mohammad Imran and Razaullah.<\/p>\n<p>All of these players will join the squad before the third Test against England.<\/p>\n<p>Head coach Sarfaraz Ahmed and bowling coach Umar Gul have been released, with Mike Hesson and Ashley Noffke taking over their responsibilities.<\/p>\n<p>Pakistan\u2019s revised squad for the Birmingham Test consists of Babar Azam (captain), Abdullah Fazal, Arafat Minhas, Azan Awais, Mohammad Abbas, Mohammad Ali, Mohammad Imran, Mohammad Imran Junior, Mohammad Ghazi Ghori (wicketkeeper), Razaullah, Saad Baig (wicketkeeper), Saim Ayub, Sajid Khan, Saud Shakeel, Shan Masood and Ubaid Shah.<\/p>\n<p>On the other hand, questions continue to be raised about Imam-ul-Haq\u2019s \u201csuspicious injury.\u201d On the opening day of the Lord\u2019s Test, he suffered a calf problem and left the field. Salman Ali Agha came on as a substitute fielder in his place.<\/p>\n<p>On the fourth day, when Pakistan\u2019s batting was struggling badly, it was expected that Imam would come out to bat. However, despite reportedly receiving painkiller injections, he did not participate in the match.<\/p>\n<p>An incident from two years ago involving another injury complaint by Imam has also resurfaced. Before the first ODI against New Zealand at the time, Imam complained of an injury, which prompted doubts. A subsequent PCB investigation reportedly found him guilty of a fake injury and even recommended that he be banned.<\/p>\n<p>Pakistan has already lost both of the first two matches against England and conceded the series. The third Test will begin on September 9. A victory is now Pakistan\u2019s last opportunity to make amends, at least partially, for the embarrassment of the series defeat.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The patience of Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) officials has reportedly run out over the team\u2019s below-par performance on the tour of England. In an emergency move, six cricketers have been called up from Pakistan, including Saim Ayub and Arafat Minhas. Meanwhile, questions are being raised over Imam-ul-Haq\u2019s \u201csuspicious injury.\u201d At Lord\u2019s, there were expectations that &hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5509,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5508","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sport"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/pakistantimesusa.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5508","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/pakistantimesusa.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/pakistantimesusa.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pakistantimesusa.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pakistantimesusa.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=5508"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/pakistantimesusa.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5508\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5510,"href":"https:\/\/pakistantimesusa.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5508\/revisions\/5510"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pakistantimesusa.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/5509"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/pakistantimesusa.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=5508"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pakistantimesusa.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=5508"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pakistantimesusa.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=5508"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}