Pakistan Seek Redemption Against England After Turbulent Test Tour

Pakistan will look to salvage some pride from a disastrous tour of England when the two sides meet in the third Test at Edgbaston on Wednesday.

England have already secured the three-match series after convincing victories in the opening two Tests. Pakistan suffered an innings defeat at Headingley before losing the second Test at Lord’s by 194 runs, leaving the visitors facing a difficult final match.

The response from the Pakistan Cricket Board has been dramatic. Seven players were sent home and seven replacements were called into the squad, with five of the newcomers yet to play a Test match.

The board also removed Test coach Sarfaraz Ahmed and bowling coach Umar Gul during the series. They have been replaced by Pakistan’s white-ball coaches, Mike Hesson and Ashley Noffke.

The changes have affected several established players. Salman Ali Agha, who captained Pakistan at Headingley while Babar Azam was injured, was among those sent home. Left-arm spinner Ali Usman, who claimed five wickets in that Test, was also dropped from the tour.

Experienced wicketkeeper Mohammad Rizwan and opener Imam-ul-Haq were also released. Imam did not bat in either innings at Lord’s because of a calf injury.

Hesson admitted the upheaval had created an unusual situation for the coaching staff.

“The guys are probably more used to a little bit of chaos than I am,” he said last week, adding that the priority was to build a balanced squad with greater variety in the bowling attack.

Pakistan have struggled badly with the bat during the series, failing to reach 200 in any of their four innings. England’s pace attack of Ollie Robinson, Jofra Archer, Josh Tongue and Gus Atkinson has repeatedly exposed weaknesses in the visitors’ batting.

England captain Joe Root said seam-friendly pitches, cloudy conditions and responsive balls had produced difficult circumstances for batsmen from both teams.

Pakistan will also have little time to adjust to the conditions, with no tour match scheduled between the second and third Tests.

Former Pakistan captain Azhar Ali has criticised the team’s management, saying several decisions made by high performance director Aaqib Javed had gone wrong. Former Pakistan coach Jason Gillespie has also called on Javed to examine his role in the team’s struggles.

The PCB has announced an investigation into the squad’s conduct in England.

England, meanwhile, will aim to complete a 3-0 series victory and give Root a winning return as captain. For Pakistan, however, victory at Edgbaston would offer only temporary relief from deeper concerns surrounding the national team.

Pakistan have lost 15 of their last 20 Tests, increasing pressure on the board to address problems that extend well beyond this series.