BIRMINGHAM: Interim Pakistan head coach Mike Hesson hopes his drastically revamped squad can come through some all too familiar “chaos” with a much-improved showing against England in next week’s third and final Test in Birmingham.

Pakistan suffered an innings and 103-run loss in the series opener at Headingley before going down by 194 runs at Lord’s on Sunday as England took an unbeatable 2-0 lead in the three-match campaign.

The Pakistan Cricket Board responded to those defeats in dramatic fashion, taking the extraordinary step of sending seven players home, calling up another seven and replacing sacked Test coach Sarfraz Ahmed with Hesson, already Pakistan’s white-ball boss.

Senior players Imam-ul-Haq and Salman Ali Agha — Pakistan’s captain at Headingley when Babar Azam was injured — were among those told to leave.

Left-arm spin bowler Ali Usman, who claimed a five-wicket haul at Headingley, and seamer Khurram Shahzad were also sent home.

Of the seven replacements, only batsmen Saim Ayub and Abdullah Fazal have Test experience.

Hesson, however, feels the whole squad can now unite and give a better account of themselves when the third Test at Edgbaston starts on September 9.

The New Zealander had recently been in Japan preparing for the Asian Games and was only due to travel to the UK for the squad’s audience with King Charles, which took place Wednesday.

“I was heading over to see the King and be part of a nice occasion. That got expedited,” Hesson told reporters at Edgbaston on Friday, as quoted by the BBC. “The last couple of days have been challenging for being in a hotel with some players coming, some players going and then the arrival of everyone.

“The guys are probably more used to a little bit of chaos than I am. There is no doubt they have been disappointed, incredibly disappointed.

“We have had to park that and go ‘righto, where to from here?’ They have been really good over the past couple of days.”

Hesson added: “I don’t think anyone wants this to happen in the middle of a series.

“From my perspective, it is about putting a balanced squad together, not only for this Test, so we actually have some variety in our attack.

“Pakistan is known for the pace, unusual actions, mystery spin — we haven’t really been able to present any of that.”

Earlier, former Pakistan coach Jason Gillespie said national selector Aaqib Javed needed to “look at himself in the mirror” with the national team “playing with fear”.

Australia’s Gillespie, who led the side for eight months in 2024, including a 2-1 Test series win against England, said it was sad to see.

“I feel for the players, this is these guys’ livelihoods,” he told The Australian newspaper. “From the outside it looks like they are playing with fear. “Salman Ali Agha goes from captaining the team in the first Test against England to out of the team for the second Test and on the plane home before the third Test.

“How does that work?”

He laid the blame firmly at the door of Aaqib.

“It’s pretty clear they don’t have a selection strategy at all, particularly under Aaqib Javed. They change their mind like they change their pants — daily,” he said. “Aaqib Javed came out recently and blamed (former Pakistan white-ball coach) Gary Kirsten and myself for everything that is going on.

“Aaqib has been chairman of selectors for the past two years. We haven’t even been there.

“Somehow he claims it is our fault. Make sense out of that. I think Javed needs to look at himself in the mirror.”

Gillespie said “there is definitely no communication between Aaqib Javed, who is meant to be chairman of selectors, and the players”.

“The players who were sacked heard it through family and friends and the media they had been sacked.

“How disrespectful is that?”

Several other ex-Pakistan coaches and players have been left similarly bewildered, including former captains Shahid Afridi and Shoaib Malik.

Ex-coach Mickey Arthur called it “an absolutely ridiculous situation”.

New Zealander Mike Hesson, who was already Pakistan’s white-ball chief, and Australian Ashley Noffke, have taken charge for the rest of the tour.

Published in Dawn, September 5th, 2026