Aaqib Javed, a selector for Pakistan, has defended the Pakistan Cricket Board’s decision to restructure the coaching staff and Test team halfway through the England tour, saying a prolonged inability to compete warranted the scale of the changes.
After England seized an unbeatable 2-0 lead in the three-match series, the Mohsin Naqvi-led PCB made one of the most drastic interventions in its recent Test history by releasing seven players and changing bowling coach Umar Gul and head coach Sarfaraz Ahmed ahead of the final Test at Edgbaston.
In a statement released on September 2, PCB chief Mohsin Naqvi responded to criticism of the mid-series overhaul. Although he said it was not the appropriate moment to talk about concerns outside of cricket, he admitted that changes made in England were important and said he was looking into factors other than performance.
Hindustan Times quotes Naqvi saying, “I have never been afraid of criticism, and I never will be. Those who say cricket has been destroyed since I came — look at what the rankings were before.”
On their current tour of England, Pakistan has suffered significant losses. Their batting failed to reach 200 in each of their four innings, and they were defeated by an innings and 103 runs at Headingley before losing by 194 runs at Lord’s.
Following the outcome, Saim Ayub, Abdullah Fazal, and Arafat Minhas were added to the squad, while seven players—Rizwan, Imam-ul-Haq, Salman, Ali Usman, Aamir Jamal, Muhammad Awais Zafar, and Khurram Shahzad—were sent home.
Cricket commentators and former Pakistani players, such as Shahid Afridi and Ramiz Raja, harshly criticised the selection change. After the revisions, former Pakistan captain Misbah-ul-Haq submitted his resignation from the national selection committee, but as of September 2, the PCB had not yet accepted it. On September 9, 2026, the third Test in Birmingham was scheduled to begin.
