Pakistan captain Babar Azam and PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi (Agency Image)

Pakistan captain Babar Azam has broken his silence on the Pakistan Cricket Board’s sweeping mid-series shake-up, revealing that he was not consulted before seven players were dropped and changes were made to the coaching setup.The PCB made the drastic changes after Pakistan suffered back-to-back heavy defeats in the Test series against England, with several established players sent home ahead of the final Test at Edgbaston.Speaking to reporters ahead of the 3rd Test match against England, Babar admitted that the developments came as a surprise even to him.

'I was not consulted’

Babar made it clear that the decision to overhaul the squad was taken entirely by the PCB.“It was news to me as well. I also came to know about it later. Since the PCB made the decision, they can explain it better,” Babar said in the pre-match press conference.The captain added that he was not involved in the decision to send seven players back or make changes to the coaching staff. The players released included Mohammad Rizwan, Imam-ul-Haq, Salman Ali Agha, Aamir Jamal, Khurram Shahzad, Ali Usman and Awais Zafar.

Fit to lead at Edgbaston

Amid the turmoil, Babar also confirmed that he is fit to lead Pakistan in the final Test. The captain had missed training earlier in the week after suffering from fever but has recovered in time for the Edgbaston contest. Pakistan will now look to avoid a series whitewash while dealing with a drastically altered squad and continued uncertainty surrounding the team management.England Squad: Ben Duckett, Emilio Gay, Jordan Cox, Joe Root(c), Harry Brook, Dan Lawrence, Jamie Smith(w), Gus Atkinson, Ollie Robinson, Jofra Archer, Josh Tongue, Shoaib Bashir, Sonny Baker, Sam Cook, Ollie PopePakistan Squad: Azan Awais, Abdullah Shafique, Shan Masood, Babar Azam(c), Saim Ayub, Saud Shakeel, Ghazi Ghori(w), Arafat Minhas, Ubaid Shah, Mohammad Abbas, Mohammad Ali, Sajid Khan, Mohammad Imran Randhawa, Mohammad Imran, Saad Baig, Abdullah Fazal, Razaullah