The recent changes in the Pakistan Test squad during their ongoing England tour have made themselves an easy target for trolls on social media. Following their back-to-back Test losses against England, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) made as many as seven changes along with two coaching staff ahead of the third and final Test, starting on September 9.
While former cricketers like Basit Ali and Rashid Latif came heavily on the PCB management, ex-England captain Kevin Pietersen didn’t miss the opportunity to make a light-hearted joke on skipper Babar Azam. Taking to X, Pietersen poked fun on Babar, stating his pre-match presser could be long.
“When a captain is interviewed before every game, the interviewer asks about changes in their team. Could be a v v v v long interview for my buddy, Babar!” wrote Pietersen on Tuesday. “Maybe the toss should start the night before??” added the former right-handed batter.
Pietersen’s comments come after the PCB asked the likes of Mohammad Rizwan, Imam-ul-Haq, Salman Ali Agha, Ali Usman, Aamir Jamal, Muhammad Awais Zafar and Khurram Shahzad to pack their bags and head home. As replacements, Pakistan called five uncapped and two capped players.
Who are the new 7 players in Pakistan squad?
Among the replacement players, batters Saim Ayub and Abdullah Fazal have played eight and two Tests, respectively. Left-arm spin-bowling all-rounder Arafat Minhas, who played in three ODIs and four T20Is, is yet to make his Test debut for Pakistan, and is one of the replacement players.
The four other players are left-arm fast bowler Mohammad Imran Jnr, wicketkeeper-batter and player of the tournament of Quaid-e-Azam Trophy 2025-26 Saad Baig, right-arm pace bowling all-rounders Mohammad Imran (also known as Imran Randhawa) and Razaullah.
That’s not all. Additionally, Test head coach Sarfaraz Ahmed and bowling coach Umar Gul have also been released and will be replaced by Mike Hesson and Ashley Noffke in the backroom staff.
‘Pakistan have actually created a world record’
Not just Pietersen, former Pakistan captain Ramiz Raja also left no stone unturned in mocking his own country’s cricket board. Raja, now a renowned commentator, stated that PCB created a “world record” by the mass sackings in the middle of the Test series against England.
“A lot of shock,” Raja said on Test Match Special podcast. “This is not done in cricket. And so why have they done it? Obviously, they’re feeling the heat. But in any circumstances during the series, this has never happened.” The 64-year-old struggled to hide his frustration on the issue.
“So Pakistan have actually created a world record,” he said. “I am really, really not happy with this situation. This is more like football, midway through the season, you fire the manager. But this is a series that is happening. So they could have easily waited for another 10 days before taking a call,” added the former cricketer, commentating for the series.
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