Pakistan skipper Babar Azam has revealed that he was left in the dark over wholesale changes made to Pakistan's Test squad following defeat to England at Lord's.
The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) took the decision to send seven players home from the playing squad following the 194-run series-defining loss in London, as well as removing head coach Safaraz Ahmed and bowling coach Umar Gul from their positions. The PCB have since launched an internal investigation to the "discipline and conduct" of players following a selection of media reports.
Five of the seven players called-up to the playing squad for the Edgbaston Test are uncapped and will be led by white-ball coach Mike Hesson.
Speaking to the media regarding the changes to his squad, captain Azam said: ""It was news to me. I found out after. The PCB decided it, so they'll be able to explain better.
"The PCB's decision must have been taken after some thought process. It's better if you ask them why."
Defeat at Lord's saw Pakistan's overall Test win/loss ratio dip under 1.00 for the first time in almost 40 years. The Falcons last had a ratio under 1.00 before their 1987/88 series against England, and after registering a series victory, had managed to maintain a positive win/loss ratio ever since.
It marks a stark decline in Pakistan's standing as a Test powerhouse and, in fact since 2022, no Test playing nation has a worse record than Pakistan's record of eight wins in 20 matches.
As a consequence, the visitors are a massive 11/2 to get the better of England in the Birmingham finale, but will have to rely on Azam returning to form if they are to prevail. The 31-year-old has struggled for runs of late, making eight and six after missing out in the Headingley opener through injury.
Despite this, Azam retains confidence in his ability with the bat, saying: "Whenever you go into a series or tournament, you back yourself to perform. "As a senior player, you have to take on more responsibility. I firmly believe you need to grab opportunities and perform in difficult conditions.
"That's why we play cricket, because we have to perform and dominate in difficult conditions. We need to forget about past failures and shift focus to the future."
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