Mike Hesson Clarifies Role in Pakistan Test Team Changes

Pakistan’s chaotic tour of England has taken another twist, with interim red-ball coach Mike Hesson making it clear he had nothing to do with the headline decision to send three senior players home before the final Test.

The visitors, already 2-0 down after heavy defeats at Headingley and Lord’s, swung the axe this week. Seven players were released from the squad, the head coach and bowling coach were removed, and Hesson was parachuted in for the third Test at Edgbaston, starting September 9.

But one of the first things he did in Birmingham was draw a line around his responsibility.

“They were already on their way home”

Speaking to the media on Friday, Hesson stressed that the departures of Mohammad Rizwan, Salman Ali Agha and Imam-ul-Haq were not made on his watch.

“When they (Pakistan Cricket Board) told me if I could manage the side for the final Test, these three players (Rizwan, Agha and Imam) were already released from the squad and on their way home. So, I really don't know what happened there,” Hesson said.

The message was blunt: the big calls on senior figures had been taken before he entered the dressing room.

The Pakistan Cricket Board had already reacted strongly to the team’s performances. England crushed Pakistan by an innings and 103 runs at Headingley in the series opener, then backed it up with a 194-run victory at Lord’s to seal the series with a match to spare. An unassailable 2-0 lead, and a familiar sense of crisis around Pakistan’s red-ball setup.

The fallout was sweeping. Along with Rizwan, Agha and Imam, Ali Usman, Aamir Jamal, Muhammad Awais Zafar and Khurram Shahzad were released from the squad. Head coach Sarfaraz Ahmed and bowling coach Umar Gul were also relieved of their duties.

Into that storm stepped Hesson.

Hesson owns the rest of the reshuffle

While distancing himself from the decision on the three senior players, Hesson did not shy away from his part in the broader clear-out.

“I was involved in the release of the rest of the players and the inclusion of some new players,” he said, underlining that once he accepted the role, he moved quickly to reshape the group he would take to Edgbaston.

The 49-year-old New Zealander has been working with Pakistan’s white-ball setup and had barely returned from one assignment before being thrust into another.

“We already had a white-ball camp in Lahore and I had just returned from Japan where the Asian Games are taking place, when I was asked if I could manage the red-ball squad,” he explained.

One moment he was overseeing preparations for limited-overs cricket, the next he was being handed a broken Test campaign and a dressing room in flux.

What he does with it at Edgbaston, and how this hastily retooled squad responds, will say plenty about where Pakistan’s red-ball project is really heading.