Pakistan Cricket Board Launches Internal Inquiry Amid England Tour Chaos

Pakistan’s tour of England, already lurching from one crisis to another on the field, has now spilled fully into the boardroom.

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has opened an internal disciplinary inquiry into “media reports concerning discipline and conduct” during the trip, a stark backdrop to a series in which the tourists trail 2-0 after heavy defeats at Headingley and Lord’s.

Seven players were abruptly sent home last week. Seven replacements were drafted in. A three-Test tour has turned into an open-heart surgery.

Coaches swept aside

The clear-out did not stop with the dressing room.

Head coach Sarfaraz Ahmed and assistant Umar Gul have been removed from their roles for the final Test at Edgbaston. In their place, Mike Hesson – already in charge of Pakistan’s white-ball sides – and former Australia seamer Ashley Noffke have been handed the task of steadying a listing ship, at least for this week.

It is an extraordinary level of disruption mid-series, even by Pakistan’s volatile standards.

In a statement on Monday, the PCB confirmed the disciplinary probe, stressing that the matter remains internal.

“The Pakistan Cricket Board has initiated an internal disciplinary inquiry following media reports concerning discipline and conduct, which are currently being reviewed internally.

“The PCB handles such matters in accordance with its standard procedures. The process is being conducted under PCB regulations, ensuring that all concerned individuals are given due consideration.

“At this stage, any speculative reports or unverified claims circulating on certain platforms, particularly those originating from hostile external sources, should not be regarded as credible.”

No detail was offered on the nature of the alleged breaches or who might be involved. The message was clear: the board will speak when it chooses, and until then it wants the noise turned down.

Big names sent home

The list of discarded players underlines the scale of the upheaval.

Salman Ali Agha, who captained Pakistan in the opening Test before being dropped for the second, has been sent back. So too wicketkeeper Mohammad Rizwan, one of the most senior figures in the squad, and opener Imam-ul-Haq, who did not bat in either innings at Lord’s because of a low-grade calf strain.

Former captain Shahid Afridi did not hold back, branding the PCB’s sweeping selection cull the “most shocking decision ever by a selection committee”.

Among the seven replacements, only batters Saim Ayub and Abdullah Fazal have previous Test experience. The rest arrive cold into a dressing room stripped of some of its most established voices, with a series already lost and an inquest just beginning.

PCB closes ranks

The PCB’s stance on communication was firm.

“The PCB will not comment further at this time. The board advises stakeholders and the public to rely on official PCB communications,” the statement added.

That line underlined the board’s frustration at leaks and speculation, and its desire to wrest back control of the narrative from what it called “hostile external sources”.

For now, the governing body wants everything handled behind closed doors, even as the story rages in public.

Noffke: “There’s always something going on”

Caught in the middle are the players and the makeshift coaching team tasked with preparing for Edgbaston.

Speaking to reporters in Birmingham, Ashley Noffke admitted he had been kept at arm’s length from the disciplinary process.

“I can be really honest in that I don’t know too much,” he said. “I sit outside of that decision-making model, (which is) above us as coaches. We try and keep the players focused on what they need to worry about.

“One thing that I’ve learned about being in Pakistan and coaching for a period of time, nearly 15 months now with the white-ball team, is there’s always something going on in the background.

“I think most of the time it’s out of the players’ control. They need to focus on the cricket that they have in front of them and the opportunity they have in front of them.

“We’re not really in the position to even know the outer workings of what’s happening at PCB in that context.”

So Pakistan arrive at Edgbaston with a new coaching structure, a half-rebuilt squad, a series already beyond them and an internal inquiry hanging over the tour.

The cricket, somehow, has to go on.