The musical chairs in Pakistan continues as they have sacked another coach. In the aftermath of the batting collapses in Lord's Test, leading to 194-run loss, Pakistan have sacked head coach Sarfaraz Ahmed and bowling coach Umar Gul. They duo will continue to be with the side but white-ball head coach Mike Hesson will take over as quick fix.
Ahead of the third Test, senior players Mohammad Rizwan, Imam-ul-Haq and Salman Agha have been released from the squad. Notably, Agha was vice-captain of the side and led Pakistan in the Headingley Test in an injured Babar Azam’s absence. Rizwan has not been able to delivery with the bat whereas Imam’s calf injury has led to controversy as he did not walk out to bat in both innings of Lord’s Test.
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Ayub, Fazal recalled
Ahead of the third Test at Edgbaston, Birmingham, Pakistan have called up Saim Ayub and Abdullah Fazal. Ayub's previous Test appearance was against South Africa last year. He is currently playing for Jamaica Kingsmen in the Caribbean Premier League (CPL). The young opener had recently scored his maiden CPL century as well. On the other end, Fazal was initially ruled out of the Test series against West Indies and England due to a lower back injury.
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New faces in Pakistan Test squad
Four new faces -- Razaullah Khan, Mohammad Imran, Arafat Minhas and Rohail Nazir have been called up too but whether they will be part of the squad is subjected to visa clearance. Razaullah and Imran are pacers whereas Minhas is a left-arm spinner and Nazir is a wicketkeeper.
Razaullah has played eight first-class games so far and bagged 30 wickets at an average of 20.86, featuring three fifers. Imran has played eight first-class games as well. The left-arm pacer has 23 wickets at an average of 30.86. He is yet to take a fifer in red-ball cricket.
Minhas is a bowling all-rounder with 17 first-class games' experience. He has 941 runs at an average of 32.44, including a ton and four fifties. He has 22 wickets, averaging 32.36. He has played three ODIs and four T20Is for Pakistan already. Nazir has played 52 first-class games and averages nearly 35 with 2,470 runs featuring seven tons and 14 fifties.
The third and final Test of the series will begin on September 9. Ahead of the Edgbaston Test, Hesson is expected to link up with the squad.