Aaqib Javed Pakistan Vs England Babar Azam

The Telegraph’s reporting also sheds light on why two of the more senior names were singled out. Rizwan’s removal, per its sources inside the camp, wasn’t only about form: the PCB is understood to be unhappy with his influence in the dressing room, seeing him as an increasingly disruptive presence, with his shot selection through the series reportedly frustrating senior figures in both team management and the board. Imam, meanwhile, remains at the centre of the storm over his calf injury; he did not bat in either innings at Lord’s, and the PCB has demanded a full account of when he first reported the problem, what medical evaluation was carried out during the Test, and why he was ultimately unable to bat.

The coaching axings have their own backstory too, per the same report. Sarfaraz Ahmed, 39, had coached only at Under-19 level and in a two-Test series in the Caribbean before being handed the senior Test job, a surprise appointment to many at the time. Bowling coach Umar Gul’s position reportedly became untenable after he pointed to cold weather as a factor in Pakistan’s poor showing at Headingley, an explanation that did not sit well with officials who felt it lacked accountability.

Speaking to Geo News, Aaqib Javed, the PCB’s director of high performance and a member of the selection committee, mounted a direct defence of the overhaul, arguing the team’s inability to compete, not the original squad selection, had forced the board’s hand.

“When we select a team, we sit with the coach and captain and build a squad. We are absolutely prepared to take responsibility for that squad,” he said. “But when you go on tour, you have to make the kind of combination you need from match to match.” He said he had personally told captain Babar Azam and the coaching staff before the Lord’s Test to play fast bowler Ubaid Shah, since Pakistan’s other three seamers were all similarly paced, and argued the team should also have picked wicketkeeper Ghazi Ghori ahead of Rizwan. “No batter in our top seven bowls,” he said. “One fast bowler changes the composition of your attack.”

On Imam, Aaqib was pointed. “The Imam injury is a big question mark, and a deep disappointment,” he said. “Players in the past used to get injuries, but they used to put on casts and still tried [to play]. We’ll take action against this. How is it possible that a pulled muscle ruled you out of batting in both innings? He should have tried and fought. He’ll have to face an inquiry; I can’t say he faked it, but a muscle pull like that cannot stop you from batting altogether.”

Aaqib was careful to draw a line between the selectors’ responsibility for the original squad and what he called the team management’s failure to deploy it properly. “No one doubted these players’ performances when selected,” he said. “But when players are completely out of form and you’re not competing at all, then we needed to make a decision.” He said he had no intention of resigning himself, unlike Misbah, and defended the decision to hand the Test side to Mike Hesson, the white-ball coach, for the Edgbaston match. “One man doesn’t run a team,” he said. “It’s difficult to see us getting a result in one match, but people should see we still have talent.”

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