PCB took the unprecedented decision to axe seven players and two coaches midway through their Test tour of England.
The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has taken the cricketing world by storm by dropping seven players and two coaches midway through their Test tour of England.
Pakistan suffered crushing defeats in the first two Tests—by an innings and 103 runs at Headingley, followed by a 194-run rout at Lord's. This handed England an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match series.
Following the debacle, the PCB took the unprecedented step of sending seven players home, including Mohammad Rizwan, Imam-ul-Haq, Salman Ali Agha, Ali Usman, Aamir Jamal, Muhammad Awais Zafar, and Khurram Shahzad.
Red-ball head coach Sarfaraz Ahmed and bowling coach Umar Gul were also relieved of their duties, with white-ball head coach Mike Hesson being given the backroom responsibilities for the rest of the England tour.
Seven players, including five uncapped, have been added to the squad ahead of the third and final Test at Edgbaston starting September 9.
The drastic mid-tour purge has triggered immense backlash, with former Pakistan Test coach Jason Gillespie telling Aaqib Javed, the chairman of selectors and also the director of high performance, to “look in the mirror” and stop playing around with the team.
“I feel for the players, this is these guys livelihoods. From the outside, it looks like they are playing with fear. Salman Ali Agha goes from captaining the team in the first Test against England to being out of the team for the second Test and on the plane home before the third Test. How does that work?” Gillespie told Code Sports.
Not the one to mince his words, Gillespie criticized Pakistan's selection strategy under Aaqib Javed.
"It's pretty clear they don't have a selection strategy at all, particularly under Aaqib Javed. They change their mind like they change their pants -- daily," he added.
Gillespie pointed out the absurdity of Aaqib blaming him and Gary Kirsten for Pakistan cricket's current struggles. He noted that Aaqib has been heading the selection committee for two years, whereas he and Kirsten aren’t even there.
The former Australian pacer also revealed that players who were recently released by the PCB were completely left in the dark by the selectors. Instead of formal communication, they found out about their axing through family, friends, and media reports.
“Aaqib Javed came out recently and blamed Gary Kirsten and myself for everything that is going on. Aaqib has been the chairman of selectors for the past two years. We haven't even been there. Somehow, he claims it is our fault. Make sense out of that. I think Javed needs to look at himself in the mirror,” Gillespie stated.
"There is definitely no communication between Aaqib Javed, who is meant to be chairman of selectors, and the players, The players who were sacked heard it through family and friends and the media that they had been sacked,” he remarked.