Former England cricketers Phil Tufnell and David Lloyd tore into the chaos that the Pakistan team and Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) caused on their ongoing three-Test tour. Pakistan embarrassingly lost the first two Tests, and PCB had a knee-jerk reaction to the same.
PCB decided to recall seven players, including Imam Ul Haq, Salman Ali Agha, and Mohammad Rizwan, and also sacked Test coach Sarfaraz Ahmed and bowling coach Umar Gul, appointing Mike Hesson in charge in the interim.
Phil Tufnell, David Lloyd, Michael Vaughan, and Alastair Cook discussed PCB’s extraordinary mid-series overhaul on the Stick to Cricket podcast.
Tufnell, who made light of the fact that he had nearly been sent home during his England career, was baffled by Pakistan's decision to remove players while the tour was still ongoing.
“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,” Tufnell said on the Stick to Cricket podcast.
Vaughan pointed out the unusual aspect of the purge. He stated that while he has seen players expelled from tours for disciplinary issues, the PCB has likely sent back players for simply playing badly. He also pointed out that since Saqlain Mushtaq was removed as head coach in 2022, there have been 12 coach changes in Pakistani teams.
“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 has made 12 changes to the men’s Test-match head coach,” Vaughan said.
“That’s more than Watford managers. 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,” Cook stated.
The panel's discussion on Pakistan's encounter with King Charles during the tour was the most bizarre aspect. Amidst the turmoil surrounding the team, some of the Pakistani contingent had participated in a royal engagement.
Immediately, the time became yet another source of entertainment.
“They got an audience with King Charles, didn’t they? They’re all lined up, and you’re being sent home. But just before you go, can you just go and meet the King?” Lloyd said.
Then came the imagined royal conversation that summed up how farcical the panel considered Pakistan’s week to have become.
“I bet old Charlie walked down there and said, ‘Are you the one who’s going home? What have you done wrong?” Tufnell stated.
The third Test between England and Pakistan will be played at Edgbaston from September 9 onwards.
