The last interlude between the two Multan Tests against England has been a chaotic few days for cricket in Pakistan.
Pakistan lost the first Test in Multan by an innings and 47 runs after England scored a record 823 runs in their only innings. They became the first team to score over 500 runs in an innings and lose a match by more than an innings. What's followed is a meltdown both in front of and behind closed doors that's continued one of the most turbulent periods ever in Pakistan cricket.
With the second Test due to start tomorrow (October 15), here's a list in chronological order of the controversial incidents over the last three days.
New selection committee members named
Within an hour of the final wicket falling in Multan on Friday (October 11), the PCB announced new members with full voting rights on their men's international selection committee. The new names were added 10 days after Mohammad Yousuf's resignation from the committee, which had left only four members with full voting rights including the captain and coach.
Also read: PCB appoint Aleem Dar to new men's selection committee
The new names with full voting rights include former international umpire Aleem Dar, as well as Aaqib Javed and Azhar Ali, as well as Asad Shafiq and Hasan Cheema - who were already part of the committee without voting rights. Those appointments mean that Pakistan have now had 26 selectors since August 2021, including Wahab Riaz and Abdul Razzaq, who were sacked after Pakistan's early exit from the 2024 T20 World Cup.
Wahab Riaz airs NOC fiasco grievances
On Saturday (October 12) a video of Wahab Riaz in conversation with Salman Butt and Hafiz Imran on Butt's Youtube channel was shared, with the trio discussing the withholding of NOCs whilst Riaz was a selector. The particular incident they were discussing concerned Usama Mir, who was not granted an NOC to play for Worcester Rapids in the 2024 T20 Blast. Mir previously revealed that, despite his belief that he had not already used his two NOC's Pakistan players are allowed per year, his request for one in order play in England was denied at the last minute.
READ: Wahab Riaz blames PCB director for Usama Mir's T20 Blast NOC fiasco
Riaz said of the incident: "When the NOC was not given, Usama phoned journalists and put the whole thing on me, saying Wahab Riaz did not give the NOC. And the entire blame fell on me. But it is all on record, in writing, that we did everything to get the NOC. I still have that with me.
"Usama's mistake was that without asking the PCB, he booked his ticket on a flight, and went to his house and stayed, without an NOC. Whose fault is this? This is the player's fault, and the fault of Usman Wahla [PCB director] in the cricket board, who did not give him any response. But I was again an easy target, and maybe Usama was told that Wahab did not give him the NOC."
Following the video of Riaz's conversation being shared on social media, Wahla issued a rebuttal via X (formerly Twitter), which stated: "We reject all allegations made in this one-sided talk".
Same Multan wicket reported to be used for second Test
News broke on Sunday (October 13) that the second Test in Multan would be played on the same wicket as the first. The wicket was described as 'shocking' by Michael Atherton on Sky Sports Cricket commentary, and there was little contest between bat and ball until Pakistan batted in the evening of day four.
While there are no rules against using the same pitch for back-to-back Tests, it's an unusual move. The reasoning behind the decisions seems to be the hope that, given there was some deterioration in the surface by day five, that deterioration will continue over the five days of the second Test. Nevertheless, given the criticism of the wicket during the first Test, it's a risky move to continue with it for the second.
READ: Why Pakistan are set to re-use 'shocking' Multan pitch for second Test against England
Pakistan drop senior players from their XI
Later on Sunday (October 13), the PCB named their squad for the final two Tests against England, announcing that Babar Azam, Naseem Shah and Shaheen Shah Afridi would all be rested for both games. With Abrar Ahmed unavailable through illness, four uncapped players -Kamran Ghulam, Mohammad Huraira, Mehran Mumtaz and Haseebullah - were called up to the squad. Sajid Khan, Noman Ali and Zahid Mehmood were also recalled.
Babar's omission came after a lean run in Test matches over the last couple of years, having last passed 50 in the format in 2022. He also dropped an easy chance off Joe Root on the fourth day of the first Test, before Root went on to reach a double-century.
READ: Babar, Naseem, Shaheen rested to regain fitness and confidence
In a PCB statement, Aaqib Javed clarified why the new-look selection panel had decided to leave the three senior players out: “We are confident that this break from international cricket will help these players regain their fitness, confidence and composure, ensuring they return in top shape for future challenges," read the statement. "They remain some of our finest talents with much more to contribute to Pakistan cricket. We are fully committed to supporting them during this period so they can come back even stronger."
Four spinners named in Pakistan's second Test XI
On Monday (October 14), Pakistan named four spinners in their XI for the second Test. Babar was replaced by Test debutant Kamran Ghulam, with Noman Ali and Sajid Khan returning to the side. Aamer Jamal is the one seamer set to feature for Pakistan in the match. The balance is clearly with one eye to the pitch, re-used in the hope that cracks will open up quicker and allow spinners to dominate. Nevertheless, it's a significant change in direction for a side whose bowling attack has been dominated by quicks at home.
READ: Pakistan pick four spinners and debutant to replace Babar Azam for second Multan Test
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