Wasim Akram did not wait for the series to end. He already knew.
“I knew before the series we were going to lose 3-0 to England,” Akram told The Athletic ahead of the third Test at Edgbaston. “Our batting is struggling, our bowling is below average and our fielding is worse. It’s not rocket science.”
This was not a pundit chasing engagement. Akram captained Pakistan, built bowling attacks from scratch, and played 104 Tests. When he says he saw 3-0 coming before a ball was bowled, it carries weight no studio analyst can match.
The scorecards proved him right before the third Test even started.
At Headingley, England won by an innings and 103 runs inside three days. Pakistan made 135 in the first innings and 171 in the second. Josh Tongue, Ollie Robinson, and Jofra Archer shared the wickets. Salman Ali Agha captained in Babar Azam’s absence and had no answers.
At Lord’s, England won by 194 runs. Pakistan posted 208 in the first innings and were bowled out for 110 in the second. Robinson led the seam attack again. Five consecutive innings without reaching 200.
At Edgbaston on Day 1, the pattern continued. Pakistan collapsed to 133 all out. None of the top five reached double figures. Saim Ayub fell for a duck. Babar Azam, back in the side, managed 7. Shan Masood made 5. Robinson took three wickets to reach 100 Test wickets with an average under 20, the first England bowler since Ian Botham to hit that mark at that rate. England closed at 156 for 4, already ahead.
Akram’s “not rocket science” line was generous. This was visible from the team sheet.
The collapse between the second and third Tests told its own story. The PCB dropped seven players, including Mohammad Rizwan, Imam-ul-Haq, Salman Ali Agha, Aamir Jamal, Ali Usman, Khurram Shahzad, and Muhammad Awais Zafar. Head coach Sarfaraz Ahmed and bowling coach Umar Gul were removed mid-tour. Mike Hesson, the white-ball coach, was reassigned to oversee the third Test alongside Ashley Noffke.
Five uncapped players were called up. Three made their Test debuts at Edgbaston. The PCB launched an internal inquiry into “discipline and conduct” but offered no specifics, stating only that it handles “such matters in accordance with its standard procedures.”
Shahid Afridi called it “the most shocking decision ever by a selection committee.”
Michael Vaughan, speaking on the Stick to Cricket podcast, put the chaos in context: “These have been sent home for just plain average cricket. Since Saqlain Mushtaq lost his job as head coach in 2023, Pakistan have made 12 changes to the men’s Test-match head coach.”
Phil Tufnell was blunter: “To send them home, to actually send them home, I think it’s terrible. It’s a disgrace for the players.”
David Lloyd captured the absurdity: “Did I say on this show, ‘There hasn’t been any chaos on this tour. They’ve just been bad’? And 24 hours later, they’ve sent seven home.”
🚨 WASIM AKRAM’S BLUNT ASSESSMENT 🚨🏏
Pakistan legend Wasim Akram has shared his honest thoughts on Pakistan’s struggles against England. 🇵🇰
🗣️ “I knew before the series we were going to lose 3-0 to England. Our batting is struggling, our bowling is below average and our… pic.twitter.com/DHIeFyMLF9
— The Cricket🏏Village 🇬🇧🇵🇰🇦🇺🇮🇳🇿🇦🇧🇩🇱🇰 (@MSohailAfzal10) September 9, 2026
This is the cycle Akram described. Lose badly. Panic. Sack everyone. Start again with new faces who inherit the same broken system.
The System That Stopped Producing
Akram’s sharpest point was not about the players at Edgbaston. It was about the pipeline that is supposed to produce them.
“I get asked all the time, ‘Can you do something to help Pakistan cricket?’ But the issues are a lot deeper,” he said. “These are the top players, there’s nothing else there. The systems aren’t there below that.”
Pakistan’s domestic cricket structure has been overhauled repeatedly. The PCB axed WAPDA and Sahir Associates from the 2026-27 domestic season. The first-class system shifted from regional to departmental and back. Coaching appointments changed with each restructure.
“The first-class structure domestically has been all over the place the last few years and there’s no consistency, no patience,” Akram said.
The numbers confirm it. Pakistan have cycled through 11 coaching changes in five years. Jason Gillespie was hired and gone within months. Gary Kirsten resigned after one cycle. Aqib Javed served as interim. Azhar Mahmood filled gaps. Sarfaraz Ahmed was appointed for the Bangladesh series and removed mid-tour in England. No coach has stayed long enough to build anything.
The result is what Akram described: the best players available are the ones on the field, and they are not good enough because the system that should have developed better ones does not function.
Waseem Akram About Babar Azam Wicket 💔 pic.twitter.com/gwHDWltdHK
— Usman (@UsmanOffical56) September 9, 2026
Insider Read
Akram is not speaking as a commentator who watches cricket on television. He built one of the greatest fast bowling units in history alongside Waqar Younis. He came through a domestic system that, for all its disorganization, produced Imran Khan, Javed Miandad, Abdul Qadir, and generations of fast bowlers who terrorized batting lineups worldwide.
That system required patience. It required selectors who backed talent through failure. It required coaches who stayed long enough to see a plan through. Every one of those requirements has been stripped away. What Akram sees at Edgbaston is not a bad team. It is the inevitable product of a country that tears down its cricket infrastructure every time it loses a series.
“That dribbles down to the fans, too,” Akram said. “They see the team lose and they want to rip it all up, too. We’ve done that so many times and now there is nothing really left.”
“You can only clap with two hands.”
Wasim Akram, The Athletic, September 9, 2026
The PCB restructures. The fans demand blood. The coaches get cycled. The domestic system gets overhauled before any overhaul has time to produce results. Everyone contributes. No single person broke it. No single person can fix it.
Akram’s verdict is not a prediction about the third Test. It is a warning that Pakistan cricket has entered a loop it cannot exit by changing players, coaches, or selection committees. The loop itself is the problem. Until someone decides to stop clapping, 3-0 is not a surprise. It is the default.
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