'He Shouldn't Be Here': England Great Cites Virender Sehwag And Blames Pakistan For 'Disrespecting' Test Cricket

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) took matters into their own hands after their men’s cricket team endured two abject defeats in the ongoing three-match Test series in England. PCB took a drastic step and dropped as many as seven players from the squad.

They called up five uncapped players while recalling Saim Ayub and Abdullah Fazel for the inconsequential third Test. Captain Babar Azam said the team has nothing to lose now, having already lost the series, and therefore expects his men to play freely.

There was plenty of criticism for the ‘knee-jerk’ reaction, with even Babar claiming he wasn’t consulted before the changes were made.

The chaos, though, hasn’t resulted in anything positive, with Pakistan continuing to struggle after being bowled

out inside 34 overs for a mere 133 in their first innings of the third Test.

Ayub, who was playing in the Caribbean Premier League (CPL) before being called up, failed to score in either of the two innings. And former England captain Nasser Hussain has questioned the logic behind his inclusion.

Ayub last played a first-class match in October 2025.

“The truth is he (Ayub) shouldn’t be here. He came from the CPL and hasn’t played first-class cricket in some time,” Hussain said on Sky Sports. “I don’t know who thinks it’s the right thing to fly someone over from foreign conditions, playing a completely different format, and think they’re going to be fine in these conditions against a Dukes ball, against Ollie Robinson and England’s bowling attack.”

Hussain went a step ahead and claimed that by throwing someone like Ayub into the deep end, Pakistan have disrespected Test cricket.

“It is just a sort of disrespect and disregard for Test match cricket. Test match cricket, as any cricketer will tell you, is the toughest format. Batting at the top of the order in England is the toughest task, and you just feel you can fly someone in from some part of the world and go, ‘Good luck’,” he said.

Hussain Cites Sehwag’s Example

During India’s wretched England tour of 2011, Virender Sehwag was summoned midway through the four-match Test series. He slotted into the playing XI for the third Test, incidentally at Edgbaston, and recorded a pair while opening in the match.

“Virender Sehwag tried it on this ground, if you remember… they flew him in. Virender Sehwag got a pair, and that’s Virender Sehwag, who’s a better, more experienced player than Saim,” Hussain said.

“So a bit of responsibility goes to the lad for the shot he played. But also, whoever thought that was a seriously good decision and that he was going to go okay this week?” he added.