The Pakistan Cricket Board’s response to a 3-0 home Test whitewash at England’s hands has claimed two senior figures, with red-ball head coach Sarfaraz Ahmed sacked and selector Misbah-ul-Haq resigning in protest at how the decision was handled. The moves came in the days immediately after Pakistan’s series defeat, as the board also dropped seven players from the squad and replaced bowling coach Umar Gul. The scale of the shake-up, coming while the tour was still under way rather than after its conclusion, marked one of the most abrupt mid-series interventions by the PCB in recent memory.
The immediate trigger
Sarfaraz Ahmed was removed as red-ball head coach after Pakistan’s tour of England produced no wins across three Tests, with the final defeat at Edgbaston completing the sweep. The PCB moved swiftly, announcing on a Monday that Ahmed was being replaced for the last Test of the series, which started September 9 in Birmingham, by Mike Hesson, the New Zealander who had previously overseen Pakistan’s white-ball setup. Handing a red-ball assignment to a coach appointed for white-ball cricket mid-series underlined how quickly the board moved once the second Test defeat at Lord’s made a series loss a near-certainty. Ahmed had held the red-ball post for a comparatively short spell before his removal, and his departure means Pakistan have now cycled through several head coaches across formats in a short span of time, a turnover rate that has itself become a talking point among former players.
Misbah’s resignation
Misbah-ul-Haq, the former Pakistan captain who had been serving as a national selector, resigned shortly after Ahmed’s sacking was confirmed. Misbah’s departure was described by Pakistani outlets as a direct response to how the coaching change was executed, with the former captain reportedly uncomfortable being associated with a process that saw Ahmed removed without the selection panel’s full input. His exit adds a further layer of instability to a setup already reshuffling personnel mid-tour. Misbah had been a key voice in recent squad selections, and his departure leaves a gap in the selection panel just as the board begins deciding which of the seven dropped players might be recalled for future assignments.
Seven players dropped and a bowling coach replaced
Alongside the coaching change, the PCB released seven players from the Test squad following the back-to-back defeats at Headingley and Lord’s, a scale of squad turnover unusual for a team still mid-series. Bowling coach Umar Gul was also replaced, with Australian Ashley Noffke brought in to take over the role. The board has since advertised a fielding coach vacancy as part of a broader overhaul of the support staff surrounding the Test team. The advertisement for the fielding coach role, posted publicly by the board, signalled that the overhaul was not limited to the two most senior positions but extended to the wider technical staff working with the squad.
Two views inside Pakistan cricket
Supporters of the board’s swift action argue that a team already 2-0 down needed a jolt, and that persisting with a struggling coaching group through a lost cause would only have deepened the damage heading into Pakistan’s next assignments. Critics, including voices close to Misbah, contend that sacking a head coach mid-series without a settled succession plan reflects reactive governance rather than a considered rebuild, and that installing a white-ball specialist into a red-ball post on short notice is unlikely to fix technical issues that predate this tour. The resignation of a selector as experienced as Misbah has been cited by former players as evidence the process itself, not just the results, is under strain. Former Pakistan captains commenting on the fallout have been split along similar lines, with some backing decisive action after a heavy series defeat and others warning that a selection panel operating without its most experienced voice risks compounding the very instability the changes were meant to fix.
The bigger pattern
This is not an isolated episode for Pakistan cricket, which has cycled through numerous head coaches and selection panels in recent years, often in the immediate aftermath of difficult tours. The Ahmed sacking and Misbah’s resignation follow a familiar script in which poor results abroad trigger rapid personnel change rather than a sustained review of technical or structural issues within the domestic system that feeds the national side. Successive PCB chairmen have promised longer-term contracts and clearer succession planning for the coaching set-up, yet the events of this tour suggest those commitments have done little to change how the board reacts in the immediate aftermath of a heavy defeat.
What happens next
Hesson’s remit beyond the final Test of the England tour remains unclear, and the PCB has not confirmed whether he will be considered for a longer-term red-ball appointment or whether a fresh external search will follow once the current assignment ends. With seven players already removed from the touring squad and a new bowling coach in place, the board’s immediate task is settling a squad and support staff before Pakistan’s next Test commitments, while the manner of Misbah’s exit has raised fresh questions about how selection decisions are being made behind the scenes. Pakistan’s next assignments will offer an early test of whether the reshuffled coaching group, missing its most senior red-ball voice on the selection side, can arrest a decline that has now cost a head coach, a bowling coach and a national selector within the space of a single tour.
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