File Pic: Babar Azam (Video grab)
“The series is lost but we have nothing to lose,” Babar said on the eve of the Test. The captain, however, said the new-look squad should embrace the opportunity rather than dwell on the turmoil surrounding the side. Pakistan captain Babar Azam has urged his reshaped side to play without fear in the third and final Test against England, insisting there is little left to lose after a dramatic mid-series overhaul by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB). “We should play freely and believe in ourselves as a team.
Pakistan trail 0-2 after heavy defeats at Headingley and Lord’s, with the PCB responding by releasing seven players from the touring squad and removing head coach Sarfaraz Ahmed and assistant Umar Gul. The PCB released Mohammad Rizwan, Imam-ul-Haq, Salman Agha, Ali Usman, Aamer Jamal, Awais Zafar and Khurram Shahzad from the squad following the Lord’s defeat.
“We didn’t play well in all three facets as a team,” he said. The Pakistan captain’s revelation that the squad overhaul was “news to me” added another layer to the crisis engulfing the side. “We’ve found Pakistan a challenge,” Root said.
Five players without Test experience have been brought into the squad, while Mike Hesson and Ashley Noffke have taken charge for the Edgbaston Test. “We’ve practised a couple of days and explained things to the new boys. Any young player who comes in is excited, and that excitement is visible. I believe that will be visible in the match, too,” he added. “And when you don’t get results, then you’ll get plenty of criticism from outside. But we did what we thought was best at the time. “I think that’s a bit disrespectful to both Pakistan as a team and to us as a team.