Pakistan lost the first two Tests of their series in England and responded with significant squad restructuring. The tourists made changes to seven positions and brought in seven new players for the final Test at Edgbaston, which began on Wednesday, September 9. The squad overhaul coincided with a coaching transition, as New Zealander Hesson took temporary charge of the Test team after Sarfaraz Ahmed stepped down from the role.
Hesson, appointed Pakistan's white-ball coach on May 13, 2025, had been
in Japan preparing for the Asian Games. He was originally scheduled to travel to the United Kingdom only for the squad's audience with King Charles, which took place on Wednesday. His sudden elevation to temporary Test coach came as Pakistan sought to reverse their fortunes in the three-match series.
"I was heading over to see the King and be part of a nice occasion. That got expedited. The last couple of days have been challenging for being in a hotel with some players coming, some players going and then the arrival of everyone. The guys are probably more used to a little bit of chaos than I am. There's no doubt they have been disappointed, incredibly disappointed. We've had to park that and go 'righto, where to from here?' They've been really good over the past couple of days,” said Hesson as quoted by BBC.
When Hesson took charge, three senior players had already departed the squad. Wicketkeeper Mohammad Rizwan, Imam-ul-Haq and Salman Ali Agha were removed before his arrival. Ali Usman and Khurram Shahzad were released after featuring in the first two Tests, while Aamir Jamal and Muhammad Awais Jafar were let go without playing on tour.
The new arrivals included batters Saim Ayub and Abdullah Fazal, both with previous Test experience. Five uncapped players were also called up, Arafat Minhas, Mohammed Imran Jr, Said Baig, Mohammad Imran and Razaullah. On Friday, Pakistan trained at the indoor centre at Edgbaston due to wet weather in Birmingham, with four of the new arrivals training alongside the squad and three more joining later that day.
Hesson clarifies Salman's absence from the King Charles audience
Hesson addressed claims that Salman refused to attend the King Charles meeting after being dropped. Salman, Pakistan's T20 captain under Hesson, led the Test side in the series opener at Headingley because Babar Azam was injured. He was excluded from the playing eleven in the second Test and then removed from the squad entirely. Hesson explained that Salman did not attend the audience with the King because he was among the trio of players dropped before Hesson's appointment, and consequently Salman, Imam and Rizwan were removed from the attendee list to Clarence House before the meeting occurred.
"I know there's been a void in news, but people are just making up stories. Three players were released from the squad before I arrived and well before [meeting the King]. They were sent a note at the time that these three players will not be attending. Someone has just made something up. All of the rest of the players in the squad were already on the list. I was on the list as the white-ball head coach. There has been no changes to it. Someone has put two and two together and come up with nine. For me, that's unacceptable journalism,” said Hesson.
