Imad Wasim has called the PCB’s decision to send seven players home during Pakistan’s England tour “childish” and “disrespectful,” making his strongest public criticism of how the board handles its players.
Speaking in an exclusive interview with PakPassion, the former Pakistan all-rounder rejected the idea that any player should be removed from a touring squad mid-series.
“When you select 16 or 17 players, they should stay there. They shouldn’t be thinking, ‘If we lose the game, we’ll go back home.’ This is childish, and I really don’t like it as a cricketer.”
Imad Wasim, PakPassion exclusive, September 2026
Imad made no exceptions. Unless a player is injured, has a medical issue, or faces an emergency at home, nobody leaves.
“If that happened to me, I don’t know what consequences I would have faced, but if I was in their position, I would have said something. Don’t send them home. That’s disrespectful.”
Imad Wasim, PakPassion exclusive, September 2026
He described the situation in one sentence that captured the scale of the damage: the whole world is laughing at Pakistan cricket.
🚨IMAD WASIM – “DON’T SEND THEM HOME.”🚨(Pak Passion)
He said – “No, nobody should be going back home. That’s my point of view. Not even a single player, unless someone is injured, has a medical problem or there’s an emergency at home.
When you select 16 or 17 players, they… pic.twitter.com/FMa27eKQrO
— Rana Ahmad. (@AhmadRana056) September 6, 2026
The PCB acted on August 30, one day after Pakistan lost the 2nd Test at Lord’s by 194 runs. Mohammad Rizwan, Imam-ul-Haq, Salman Ali Agha, Ali Usman, Aamir Jamal, Muhammad Awais Zafar, and Khurram Shahzad were all removed from the squad. Head coach Sarfaraz Ahmed and bowling coach Umar Gul were sacked. Chief selector Misbah-ul-Haq resigned.
Pakistan had already lost the 1st Test at Headingley by an innings and 103 runs, finishing in three days. The batting failed to cross 200 in any of the four innings across both matches.
Salman Ali Agha’s treatment stands out as the most extreme example. He captained Pakistan in the 1st Test at Headingley after Babar Azam was ruled out with an injury. Pakistan lost heavily. Babar returned for the 2nd Test and replaced Salman in the XI. Babar confirmed it at the toss: “One change, Salman Ali Agha is not playing, I’m playing.” After the Lord’s defeat, Salman was sent home entirely. Captain one match, out of the squad two weeks later. Imad singled out his friend’s treatment as disrespectful.
The Imam-ul-Haq Inquiry
Imam-ul-Haq faces a formal PCB investigation over his calf injury at Lord’s. He sustained what was described as a grade 1 calf tear while fielding on day one of the 2nd Test and did not bat in either innings.
PCB director of high performance Aaqib Javed questioned whether the injury justified missing both innings.
“The Imam injury is a big question mark, and a deep disappointment. Players in the past used to get injuries, but they used to put on casts and still tried. We’ll take action against this. How is it possible that a pulled muscle ruled you out of batting in both innings?”
Aaqib Javed, PCB director of high performance, September 2026
Stuart Broad was more direct. Watching Imam practice batting strokes on the sidelines at Lord’s while wearing shorts and tape on his calf, Broad said on Sky Sports: “That’s all for show. You don’t have to come wearing shorts and tape and hobble around like that. I am not impressed with that.”
This is not the first time Imam has faced scrutiny over an injury. A prior report found him guilty of misrepresenting a toe injury during Pakistan’s 2022 tour of New Zealand. Imam returned quietly to Lahore on September 2 and is expected to seek legal counsel before appearing before the inquiry committee.
The backlash against the PCB extended well beyond Imad Wasim. Former Pakistan head coach Mickey Arthur posted on X: “Absolutely ridiculous decisions by the PCB, this is the reason they are in the mess they are, because they constantly chop and change players, coaches and selectors, and there is no stability!”
Shahid Afridi called it “the most shocking decision ever by a selection committee,” adding: “T20 players have been included for a Test match in England. What is this thinking and approach?”
Former Pakistan spinner Mushtaq Ahmed warned against rash decisions. “Changing seven players and the management, especially with the tour still going on, I feel that this is not the right thing,” he said. He added that Sarfaraz Ahmed and Umar Gul deserved to be relieved after the tour, not during it.
Kevin Pietersen mocked the situation: “Could be a v v v v long interview for my buddy, Babar! Maybe the toss should start the night before??”
Insider Read
Every touring squad operates on an unspoken contract. You are selected, you commit, and the team commits to you for the duration. That contract is what allows a player who made a duck in the first innings to walk out for the second innings with the same intent. It is what lets a bowler who got hit for four boundaries in an over come back the next morning. The contract says: you belong here until this tour ends.
When you send seven players home after two Tests, that contract is torn up in front of everyone who remains. The players still in the squad now know the rules have changed. Every innings becomes an audition. Every dropped catch carries the threat of a flight home. Imad is right that players will only play for themselves in this environment, because self-preservation becomes the only rational response when the board has shown it will remove you mid-series. No team in world cricket wins anything meaningful when its players are batting to keep their place on the plane rather than to win the match.
The 3rd Test at Edgbaston begins September 9. White-ball coaches Mike Hesson and Ashley Noffke will lead a squad that includes five uncapped players: Saad Baig, Mohammad Imran Jnr, Mohammad Imran Randhawa, Razaullah, and Arafat Minhas. Saim Ayub and Abdullah Fazal return with limited Test experience. Babar Azam remains captain. England lead 2-0.
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