{"id":19347,"date":"2026-09-02T12:00:03","date_gmt":"2026-09-02T12:00:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/?p=19347"},"modified":"2026-09-02T12:00:03","modified_gmt":"2026-09-02T12:00:03","slug":"questions-over-character-players-removed-without-communication-how-pakistans-day-of-chaos-unfolded-after-england-humiliation-cricket-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/?p=19347","title":{"rendered":"Questions over &#8216;character&#8217;, players removed without communication: How Pakistan&#8217;s day of chaos unfolded after England humiliation | Cricket News"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<div class=\"e9jwa\">\n<div class=\"vdo_embedd\">\n<div class=\"GfdvZ\">\n<section class=\"_bIDB  clearfix id-r-component leadmedia undefined undefined  E9tg9 \" style=\"top:0px\">\n<div class=\"_bIDB\" data-ua-type=\"1\" onclick=\"stpPgtnAndPrvntDefault(event)\">\n<div class=\"ypVvZ\">\n<div class=\"WGttI\"><img src=\"https:\/\/static.toiimg.com\/thumb\/msid-133708282,imgsize-112041,width-400,height-225,resizemode-4\/mohammad-rizwan.jpg\" alt=\"Questions over 'character', players removed without communication: How Pakistan's day of chaos unfolded after England humiliation\" title=\"Mohammad Rizwan leaves the ground after losing his wicket on day two of the second cricket test match between England and Pakistan in London, Friday, Aug. 28, 2026. (AP Photo)\" decoding=\"async\" fetchpriority=\"high\"\/><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"Ta7d_ img_cptn\"><span title=\"Mohammad Rizwan leaves the ground after losing his wicket on day two of the second cricket test match between England and Pakistan in London, Friday, Aug. 28, 2026. (AP Photo)\">Mohammad Rizwan leaves the ground after losing his wicket on day two of the second cricket test match between England and Pakistan in London, Friday, Aug. 28, 2026. (AP Photo)<\/span><\/div>\n<\/section>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>Pakistan cricket was thrown into chaos after the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) made sweeping changes following the team&#8217;s defeats in the first two Tests against England, with several players reportedly finding out they had been dropped only through social media posts instead of being informed by the team management.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"2\"\/>The PCB recalled seven players and replaced two coaches after Pakistan lost the series 2-0 against England.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"4\"\/>Head coach <a href=\"https:\/\/timesofindia.indiatimes.com\/topic\/sarfaraz-ahmed\" styleobj=\"[object Object]\" class=\"\" commonstate=\"[object Object]\" frmappuse=\"1\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Sarfaraz Ahmed<\/a> and bowling coach Umar Gul were also sent home and replaced by white-ball head coach Mike Hesson and bowling coach Ashley Noffke for the third and final Test in Birmingham, starting on September 9.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"8\"\/>Wicketkeeper Mohammad Rizwan, injured opener Imam-ul-Haq, captain in the first Test Salman Ali Agha, spinner Ali Usman and pacer Khurram Shahzad \u2014 most of whom played in the second Test at Lord&#8217;s \u2014 were also recalled from the tour. <!-- -->All-rounder Aamir Jamal and batter Awais Zafar returned home without playing a match in England.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"13\"\/><\/p>\n<p><h2>Players found out through social media<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"15\"\/>According to a report published by UK-based newspaper The Telegraph, the way the PCB handled the overhaul left the players shocked.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"17\"\/>The report said several players were spending their day off in London or were at the team hotel when friends and family started sending them screenshots of the PCB&#8217;s announcement on social media.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"20\"\/>The players had not been informed before the board made the announcement.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"22\"\/>&#8220;Team management had not told them beforehand. To say they were shocked was an understatement,&#8221; The Telegraph report said.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"24\"\/>The report added that the way the decision was handled left &#8220;the most bitter of tastes&#8221; inside the squad. It also said the international future of several players was suddenly thrown into doubt, with questions being raised over their &#8220;character, fitness and decision-making.&#8221;<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"27\"\/><\/p>\n<p><h2>No communication from captain, coach or team management<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"29\"\/>The report said many players privately contacted friends and family after seeing the announcement, trying to understand what had happened.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"31\"\/>Several of them reportedly expressed &#8220;shock and confusion&#8221; because no direct communication had come from the team management, the captain or the coach before the PCB statement was released.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"33\"\/>One player who featured in the series reportedly felt he was being unfairly made a scapegoat despite believing he had performed well.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"36\"\/>According to the report, he was in his room at the team hotel in London when messages started arriving. A friend forwarded him the PCB press release, and he had to read it twice because he initially thought it was fake.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"38\"\/>The report also said players viewed the decision to send them home without informing them personally as degrading.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"40\"\/>The confusion continued on Tuesday, when former Pakistan captain Misbah-ul-Haq resigned from the selection committee after he was not consulted about the seven players who were recalled.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"43\"\/><\/p>\n<p><h2>Imam and Rizwan among senior players under scrutiny<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"45\"\/>The report said Pakistan&#8217;s tour of England had already been marked by tension between the players and the PCB before the squad overhaul.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"47\"\/>Imam-ul-Haq is among the players whose future is under serious doubt after he did not bat in either innings at Lord&#8217;s because of a calf injury.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"49\"\/>The PCB is unhappy with how the injury situation unfolded and believes it reflected poorly on both the player and the team, The Telegraph reported.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"52\"\/>Mohammad Rizwan is another senior player who was sent home after reportedly coming under scrutiny.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"54\"\/><\/p>\n<div data-pos=\"0\" class=\"id-r-component iIpbx undefined  &#10;        \">\n<div><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Sarfaraz Ahmed, Babar Azam\" msid=\"133708507\" imgsize=\"163435\" resizemode=\"4\" width=\"\" title=\"\" placeholdersrc=\"https:\/\/static.toiimg.com\/photo\/83033472.cms\" offsetvertical=\"0\" placeholdermsid=\"47529300\" type=\"thumb\" class=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/static.toiimg.com\/photo\/imgsize-163435,msid-133708507\/sarfaraz-ahmed-babar-azam.jpg\" data-api-prerender=\"true\"\/><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"56\"\/>According to the report, the PCB is unhappy with Rizwan&#8217;s influence in the dressing room and feels he has become a &#8220;disruptive presence.&#8221;<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"58\"\/>It also said Rizwan&#8217;s shot selection during the Test series frustrated senior members of the team management and officials at the board, who expected better from a player of his experience.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"62\"\/><\/p>\n<p><h2>Sarfaraz and Umar Gul removed after poor Test run<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n<p>The coaching changes came after Sarfaraz Ahmed failed to improve Pakistan&#8217;s Test results during his three-month stint as head coach.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"65\"\/>Babar Azam&#8217;s second stint as Test captain also failed to improve the team&#8217;s fortunes after Shan Masood was removed from the role in May. Pakistan drew the series in the West Indies 1-1 under Babar but lost both Tests in England.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"67\"\/>Pakistan have now lost 10 of their last 11 away Tests.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"69\"\/>Umar Gul was also removed as bowling coach. According to the report, the PCB believed he failed to get the best out of the pace attack, and his explanation that the cold weather affected Pakistan&#8217;s bowlers at Leeds did not go down well with senior officials, who felt it lacked accountability.<\/div>\n<p><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/timesofindia.indiatimes.com\/sports\/cricket\/news\/questions-over-character-players-removed-without-communication-how-pakistans-day-of-chaos-unfolded-after-england-humiliation\/articleshow\/133707360.cms\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Mohammad Rizwan leaves the ground after losing his wicket on day two of the second cricket test match between England and Pakistan in London, Friday, Aug. 28, 2026. (AP Photo) Pakistan cricket was thrown into chaos after the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) made sweeping changes following the team&#8217;s defeats in the first two Tests against [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":19348,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[31],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-19347","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-31"],"magazineBlocksPostFeaturedMedia":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/mohammad-rizwan.jpg","medium":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/mohammad-rizwan.jpg","medium_large":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/mohammad-rizwan.jpg","large":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/mohammad-rizwan.jpg","1536x1536":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/mohammad-rizwan.jpg","2048x2048":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/mohammad-rizwan.jpg","blogsy-small":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/mohammad-rizwan.jpg","blogsy-small-tall":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/mohammad-rizwan.jpg","blogsy-small-square":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/mohammad-rizwan.jpg","blogsy-small-masonry":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/mohammad-rizwan.jpg","blogsy-medium":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/mohammad-rizwan.jpg","blogsy-medium-masonry":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/mohammad-rizwan.jpg","blogsy-large":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/mohammad-rizwan.jpg","blogsy-wide":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/mohammad-rizwan.jpg"},"magazineBlocksPostAuthor":{"name":"admin","avatar":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/8709732a479614e7a8aa24d3eb1b239f30dc6d90c61464ed495001e7a469d856?s=96&d=mm&r=g"},"magazineBlocksPostCommentsNumber":"0","magazineBlocksPostExcerpt":"Mohammad Rizwan leaves the ground after losing his wicket on day two of the second cricket test match between England and Pakistan in London, Friday, Aug. 28, 2026. (AP Photo) Pakistan cricket was thrown into chaos after the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) made sweeping changes following the team&#8217;s defeats in the first two Tests against [&hellip;]","magazineBlocksPostCategories":["\u0b26\u0b47\u0b36 \u0b2c\u0b3f\u0b26\u0b47\u0b36"],"magazineBlocksPostViewCount":1,"magazineBlocksPostReadTime":4,"magazine_blocks_featured_image_url":{"full":["https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/mohammad-rizwan.jpg",400,225,false],"medium":["https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/mohammad-rizwan.jpg",300,169,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/mohammad-rizwan.jpg",150,84,false]},"magazine_blocks_author":{"display_name":"admin","author_link":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/author\/admin"},"magazine_blocks_comment":0,"magazine_blocks_author_image":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/8709732a479614e7a8aa24d3eb1b239f30dc6d90c61464ed495001e7a469d856?s=96&d=mm&r=g","magazine_blocks_category":"<a href=\"#\" class=\"category-link category-link-31\">\u0b26\u0b47\u0b36 \u0b2c\u0b3f\u0b26\u0b47\u0b36<\/a>","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19347","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=19347"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19347\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/19348"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=19347"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=19347"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=19347"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}