Hesson distances himself from decision to drop senior players on England tour

Pakistan’s interim red-ball head coach Mike Hesson on Friday distanced himself from the decision to drop senior players Mohammad Rizwan, Salman Agha and Imam-ul-Haq from the Test squad following a disastrous tour of England, where Pakistan have lost the opening two matches by heavy margins.

Pakistan suffered an innings defeat in the first Test before going down by 194 runs in the second, prompting the axing of seven players and the sacking of head coach Sarfaraz Ahmed.

Hesson, who had been serving as Pakistan’s white-ball head coach, was subsequently handed red-ball reins for third and final Test in Birmingham, starting September 9.

“Look, when they (PCB) 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 (were) on their way home. So, I really don’t know what happened there,” Hesson said. Hesson said that he was involved in the release of the rest of the players and the inclusion of some new players.

“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 added.