Pakistan interim Test coach Mike Hesson said the team’s sweeping mid-series changes were far from ideal but believes a crop of fresh faces can bring variety as they seek to avoid a series whitewash against England in the third and final Test.
Pakistan have brought seven players into their squad for the match at Edgbaston, including experienced batters Saim Ayub and Abdullah Fazal and five uncapped players, after losing the first two Tests heavily.
The new arrivals include spin-bowling all-rounder Arafat Minhas, left-arm seamer Mohammed Imran Junior, wicket-keeper Said Baig and all-rounders Mohammad Imran and Razaullah.
“I don’t think anyone wants these to happen in the middle of a series, clearly not,” Hesson told reporters on Friday.
Hesson, who took charge of Pakistan’s red-ball side following a major shake-up that also saw head coach Sarfaraz Ahmad and pace-bowling coach Umar Gul depart, said his immediate priority was to prepare the team for the final Test, which starts on September 9 at Birmingham.
“It’s just the start for me and we have a few days and in the next three to four days we will be able to prepare well for the third Test,” he said.
Pakistan have struggled to impose themselves during the series and Hesson acknowledged that the team had yet to display some of the characteristics traditionally associated with its cricket.
“Pakistan is known for pace, unusual actions, mystery spin. We haven’t really been able to present any of that,” he said.
The coach said the arrival of younger players could provide an opportunity for Pakistan to rediscover those strengths.
“With bits of young players, having had no four to five years’ experience it’s an opportunity to show that Pakistan has some skills,” Hesson said.
The new-look squad trained at Edgbaston’s indoor centre on Friday because of wet weather in Birmingham, while the remaining players were expected to join later in the day.
Hesson said Mohammad Rizwan, Imam-ul-Haq and Salman Ali Agha had already been released from the squad before he took charge.
He also rejected reports that Salman, Pakistan’s Twenty20 captain under Hesson, had refused to attend a meeting with Britain’s King Charles after being dropped.
Salman captained Pakistan in the first Test at Headingley in the absence of injured batter Babar Azam but was left out of the XI for the second match before being omitted from the squad altogether.
Hesson said the three players had been removed from the guest list before he arrived because they had already been released.
“The three players were released from the squad before I arrived and well before meeting the King,” he said. “They were sent a note at the time that these three players will not be attending.”
Hesson said the remaining players stayed on the guest list and dismissed suggestions that the changes were connected to the royal engagement.
“I know there’s been a void in news, but people are just making up stories,” he said. “Someone has put two and two together and come up with nine. For me, that’s unacceptable journalism.”
With Pakistan trailing 2-0, Hesson said the team would use the remaining days to assess the new arrivals before finalising the playing XI.
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