Pakistan made sweeping changes to their Test setup during their ongoing England tour in August 2026 after losing the first two matches. The Pakistan Cricket Board removed Test head coach Sarfaraz Ahmed following defeats at Headingley, where Pakistan lost by an innings and 103 runs, and at Lord’s, where they lost by 194 runs.
Seven players were sent home from the tour and replaced by new faces, including five uncapped cricketers. The players released included Mohammad Rizwan, Imam-ul-Haq, Salman Ali Agha, Ali Usman, Aamir Jamal, Muhammad Awais Zafar and Khurram Shahzad. White-ball head coach Mike Hesson was handed charge of the Test side as Pakistan prepared for the final Test at Edgbaston in Birmingham on September 9.
Former England players Phil Tufnell, David Lloyd, Michael Vaughan and Alastair Cook discussed Pakistan’s mid-series overhaul on the Stick to Cricket podcast. The panel expressed strong criticism of the decision to send players home mid-tour rather than allowing them to complete the series. Michael Vaughan stated that the removals were unprecedented in their nature and reflected poorly on the Pakistan Cricket Board’s handling of the situation.
“But to send them home — to actually send them home — I think it’s terrible. It’s a disgrace for the players. I mean, they’ve now got to get on a plane and go back to the country. I’ve had all sorts. I’ve been sent to the moon in a rocket by The Sun, and, you know, ‘big ears’ and ‘bunny teeth’ and everything. We always used to get that. But to actually say, two-thirds of the way through a tour, ‘Right, sorry lads, you’ve got to bugger off’ — I think that’s something else,” said Tufnell in the above mentioned source.
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Vaughan criticises the decision to send players home mid-tour
Vaughan highlighted the instability within Pakistan’s coaching structure as a contributing factor to the team’s collapse. The revolving door of leadership had created an environment where drastic mid-tour decisions became possible, he suggested.
“The thing is, usually you see one or two leave a tour because they’ve done something wrong in a bar or something. These have been sent home for just plain average cricket. Since Saqlain Mushtaq lost his job as head coach in 2023, Pakistan have made 12 changes to the men’s Test-match head coach,” Vaughan said.
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Lloyd and Cook react to the chaos
David Lloyd reflected on the sudden nature of the squad overhaul and the contradiction in Pakistan’s messaging about the tour. The former England player had previously stated on the same podcast that Pakistan’s problems were performance-related rather than chaotic, only to see the situation escalate dramatically within hours.
“Did I say on this show, ‘There hasn’t been any chaos on this tour. They’ve just been bad’? And 24 hours later, they’ve sent seven home,” said Cook.
Alastair Cook joined the discussion by referencing Pakistan’s recent engagement with the British royal family during the tour. Cook painted a picture of the awkward situation created by the mid-tour removals, highlighting the contrast between the team’s official duties and the internal turmoil.
