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In Pakistan cricket, a major change has been made in the Test team during the tour of England, after which former captain Misbah-ul-Haq has offered to resign from the men’s national selection committee. However, Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has not yet accepted his resignation.

According to ESPNcricinfo, Misbah has also decided to step down from the post of batting consultant at the National Cricket Academy in Lahore. His move comes a day after the PCB reshuffled the team and coaching staff amid the ongoing Test series against England.

Pakistan is trailing 0-2 in the three-match Test series. In the second Test played at Lord’s, it had to face defeat by 194 runs. After this, Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) released seven players from the Test team before the third Test. These include Mohammad Rizwan, Imam-ul-Haq, Salman Aga, Ali Usman, Aamer Jamal, Awais Zafar and Khurram Shahzad. Apart from this, head coach Sarfaraz Ahmed and bowling coach Umar Gul were also removed from the post.

Five new faces in the test team

PCB has included five uncapped players Arafat Minhas, Mohammad Imran Jr., Saad Baig, Mohammad Imran Randhawa and Razaullah in the Test squad. Apart from these, Saim Ayub and Abdullah Fazal will also join the team. White-ball team head coach Mike Hesson and bowling coach Ashley Noffke have been included in the coaching staff of the Test team. The third Test is to be played at Edgbaston from 9 September.

Misbah has played many roles in PCB

Misbah, one of Pakistan’s most successful Test captains in 2017, held several roles in the PCB after retiring from international cricket. In 2019, he was given the dual responsibility of head coach and chief selector. In October 2020, he left the post of chief selector, while the next year he also resigned from the responsibility of head coach.

After this he remained associated with PCB in different roles. He was included among the five mentors of the men’s Champions Cup competition in 2024. She also mentored the domestic women’s teams.

Misbah coached the Pakistan Gold team in the 50-over National Champions Cup held in Multan last month, which won the title under the captaincy of Shaheen Afridi.

In March this year, Misbah was made a part of the four-member selection committee. Aaqib Javed, Sarfaraz Ahmed and Asad Shafiq were also included in this committee. Along with this, he was also on contract with PCB as a batting consultant with responsibility for 180 days in a year.