Mike Hesson Denies Unacceptable Journalism on Salman Ali Agha's Royal Snub
Mike Hesson has moved quickly to swat away a royal-sized distraction from Pakistan’s troubled Test tour of England, branding reports that Salman Ali Agha refused to meet King Charles III as “unacceptable journalism”.
The UK-based Telegraph claimed on Thursday that one of the players dropped from Pakistan’s Test squad had declined to attend an audience with the monarch at Clarence House. Fingers soon pointed at Salman. Hesson, Pakistan’s interim Test coach, was having none of it.
“People are just making up stories,” he said on Friday, insisting the account was “completely false”.
‘Two and two together and come up with nine’
According to Hesson, the situation was far more mundane than the headline suggested. Salman, Imam-ul-Haq and Mohammad Rizwan had been released from the Test squad before the Buckingham Palace engagement was finalised, and were removed from the list of attendees well in advance.
“Salman Ali Agha, as I’ve said, the three players were released from the squad before I arrived, well before Buckingham Palace,” Hesson explained. “They were sent a note at that time that these three players would not be attending Buckingham Palace. So, someone’s just made something up.”
There was no last-minute snub, no quiet protest, no dressing-room drama spilling into the royal reception. Just a list that changed when the squad did.
“In terms of the other players, all of the rest of the players that were in the squad were already on the list. I was already on the list as the white-ball head coach, so there have been no changes to it,” Hesson said. “It was all very straightforward. Someone’s just got two and two together and come up with nine. For me, that’s unacceptable journalism.”
The message was clear: blame the arithmetic, not the player.
Turmoil after a brutal start to the series
The row over the royal visit comes against a backdrop of upheaval and underperformance. Pakistan’s tour has unravelled quickly on the field, and the off-field noise has only grown louder.
England crushed Pakistan in the opening Test at Headingley, winning by an innings and 103 runs. At Lord’s, the hosts tightened the screw with a 194-run victory, sealing the three-match series 2-0 with a game to spare.
Those defeats triggered sweeping changes from the Pakistan Cricket Board. Seven players were sent home, seven replacements were called up, and Sarfaraz Ahmed was removed as Test head coach. Hesson, already in charge of Pakistan’s white-ball setup, was handed the Test reins mid-tour.
Among those told their tour was over: senior opener Imam-ul-Haq and Salman Ali Agha, who had captained Pakistan in the first Test at Headingley when Babar Azam was injured. Both suddenly found themselves out of the side and, as Hesson underlined, off the guest list for Clarence House.
The cricketing crisis came first. The royal engagement followed. The two, Hesson insists, never crossed.
As Pakistan try to salvage pride from a series already lost, their new Test coach has made one thing plain: he’ll accept scrutiny for selection calls and tactical shifts, but not for a story he believes should never have left the newsroom.
