Babar says was surprised by PCB’s decision to sack Sarfraz, send seven players home

The Pakistan Cricket Board’s (PCB) decision to sack the national team’s head coach and send seven players back home following the defeat against England at Lord’s last week came as a surprise to captain Babar Azam, he revealed on Tuesday.

The 194-run drubbing — which sealed the three-match series for the hosts — was followed by Sarfraz Ahmed’s removal as Pakistan’s head coach and Umar Gul’s dismissal as bowling coach. They were replaced by white-ball head coach Mike Hesson and Ashley Noffke, respectively.

Seven players, including seasoned campaigners Imam-ul-Haq, Mohammad Rizwan and Salman Ali Agha, were axed from the squad midway through the series, while five of the replacements flown to the UK were uncapped players.

The wholesale changes, as it emerged later, were planned outside the Pakistan dressing room by the national selection panel. As was the case with most members of the team’s contingent, the developments came as a surprise to Babar as well.

“It was news to me as well,” Babar said during the pre-match press conference ahead of the final Test at Edgbaston. “I only found out about these things later.”

Following the PCB’s dramatic move, the board’s high-performance director and selector Aaqib Javed revealed that the decision to sack the coaching staff was a reaction to their inability to make certain selection calls ahead of the second Test.

While Sarfraz and Umar bore the brunt of the PCB’s action, Babar was retained to lead the side in the final Test. The captain, however, distanced himself from the board’s decisions.

“…The new players are coming in, and they have a golden opportunity to grab it and play this game,” he said, adding that the final Test, being a dead rubber, could help Pakistan handle the pressure better.

“For us, this is an opportunity as a team and as a group. The series is lost, but we have nothing to lose. So we can play freely, go out onto the ground and believe in ourselves as a team,” he added.

“We have had a couple of days of practice and have spoken to each other a lot. Whenever a new team or a youngster comes in, there is a little excitement, and that excitement is visible.”