Pakistan squad changes ahead of the third Test against England caught even senior batter Babar Azam off guard, with the former captain telling reporters the reshuffle was “news to me” when he was asked about it. His response, delivered in a tone more puzzled than angry, has turned attention away from the pitch and onto how Pakistan’s cricket board picks its playing eleven.
Key Takeaways
- Babar Azam said he learned about the latest Pakistan squad changes from journalists, not team management.
- The remark has reignited questions about communication between the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), the head coach and senior players.
- Selection instability has been a recurring theme for Pakistan’s Test side over the last two years, often tied to short-term results rather than long-term technical planning.
- Babar’s own place in the XI has come under scrutiny amid a stretch of modest Test scores, even as he remains central to Pakistan’s white-ball plans.
What Did Babar Azam Say About the Pakistan Squad Changes?
Asked in a pre-match press interaction about the alterations to Pakistan’s squad going into the third Test, Babar Azam didn’t dodge the question. He said plainly that the changes were “news to me,” a line that has since travelled far wider than the press conference room it was spoken in.
It wasn’t delivered as a complaint, more as a statement of fact. But for a player who has captained the side across all three formats, being informed of squad calls after the fact — rather than being part of the conversation — says something about where he currently sits in the team’s decision-making hierarchy.
Why Is Pakistan Overhauling Its Test Squad Mid-Series?
Mid-series changes are not new for Pakistan cricket, but they usually follow a pattern: a batting collapse, a bowling attack that leaks runs, or a fielding unit that looks unfit. Reports from within the camp suggest this round of Pakistan squad changes is driven by a mix of workload management for the pace bowlers and a selection panel keen to freshen up a middle order that has struggled for fluency in the series so far.
There’s also a simpler explanation that gets less airtime: Pakistan’s selection committee has, for years, worked on short cycles. A player gets two or three failures and the door opens for someone new, regardless of how that decision lands with the dressing room. It’s reactive selection, not proactive planning, and it’s exactly the kind of environment where a senior pro can find out about changes secondhand.
The Communication Gap Inside the PCB
Pakistan’s team management structure has shifted several times in recent seasons, with head coaches, chief selectors and team directors rotating in and out. Every changeover resets relationships and reporting lines. When the person picking the XI isn’t the person who spoke to the players a day earlier, gaps like the one Babar described are almost inevitable.
Who Are the Players Affected by the Squad Upheaval?
While the PCB has not detailed every reasoning behind each individual call, the broad strokes reported around the squad point to changes across the top order, the wicketkeeping slot and the pace attack — with at least one uncapped or lightly-capped player expected to get a look-in for the third Test. That’s a fairly wide-reaching reshuffle for a series that’s still live, rather than one Pakistan has already lost or wrapped up.
- Top order: reported reshuffling of opening combinations after inconsistent starts in the series.
- Wicketkeeper-batter: a possible switch to bring more control behind the stumps.
- Pace attack: rotation aimed at managing bowling workloads across a long England tour.
- Middle order: at least one recall or debut being considered to add depth.
How Do These Pakistan Squad Changes Compare to Past PCB Reshuffles?
| Instance | Trigger | Outcome |
| Series losses in 2023-24 home season | Batting collapses, poor over-rates | Multiple selection panel changes, short-term recalls |
| 2024 tour of Australia | Heavy defeats, bowling workload concerns | Squad rotation mid-series, captaincy debate reopened |
| Current England series | Middle-order form, bowler fatigue | Multiple changes ahead of the third Test, senior player left uninformed |
The pattern is consistent: Pakistan tends to make its biggest calls under pressure, in the middle of a series, rather than building a squad around a settled core and giving it time to fail or succeed together. It’s a cycle that’s played out across formats for the better part of a decade.
What Does This Mean for Babar Azam’s Place in the Team?
Babar Azam remains one of Pakistan’s most technically correct batters — his balance at the crease and his ability to play late are still textbook, even during a form dip. But Test cricket has been unkind to him lately compared to his white-ball numbers, and every reshuffle inevitably invites the question of whether his own spot is next.
For context on how central he has been to Pakistan’s cricket setup over the last decade, his career record and captaincy history are documented on Babar Azam’s official profile page, which shows just how unusual it is for a player of his stature to be excluded from squad conversations.
What’s notable here isn’t that Pakistan changed the XI — teams do that everywhere. It’s that a player of Babar’s experience wasn’t looped in before it became public. That’s a management issue as much as a cricketing one, and it’s worth separating the two when judging whether these changes make tactical sense.
Does This Affect the Series Result?
Squad upheaval this late in a series is a gamble. New combinations need time to gel, and pace bowlers coming in cold rarely hit their best rhythm in a single Test. Pakistan will be hoping the changes address specific technical gaps — a top order that hasn’t seen the new ball off, or a keeper dropping chances — rather than simply reshuffling for the sake of being seen to act.
FAQ
What did Babar Azam say about the Pakistan squad changes?
He said the changes to the squad ahead of the third Test against England were “news to me,” indicating he wasn’t consulted or informed before the decision was made public.
Why is Pakistan changing its squad before the third Test?
Reports point to concerns over middle-order form, opening partnerships, and managing fast bowler workloads across a demanding tour schedule.
Is Babar Azam being dropped from the Pakistan Test squad?
There is no indication Babar Azam has been dropped; his comment was about being uninformed of the changes, not about his own selection status.
How often does Pakistan make mid-series squad changes?
Fairly often. Pakistan’s selection panel has a history of reactive changes during series, especially after batting or bowling failures, rather than waiting until a series concludes.
Who replaces the affected players in the third Test squad?
Specific replacements have been reported but not officially confirmed in full by the PCB at the time of writing; official team sheets typically follow closer to the toss.
Babar Azam’s “news to me” moment says less about one Test match and more about how Pakistan cricket manages its own dressing room. Until that communication gap closes, expect these kinds of headlines to keep following every squad announcement, win or lose.