The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has confirmed that it will not make any major changes to the national team setup following its early exit from the ICC T20 World Cup 2026. According to reports, the board is unlikely to sack captains or the coaching staff in the white-ball format despite their exit in the Super 8 stage.
The PCB is unlikely to remove Hesson immediately as he had signed a two-year contract in May last year. PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi is believed to be in favor of maintaining stability in the coaching setup rather than making another sudden change, even as criticism over Pakistan’s performance continues to grow.
PCB has started preparations for the 2027 ODI World Cup
According to Geo News, the PCB would prefer continuity rather than reacting to setbacks with blanket dismissals. The board has given the green signal to T20 captain Salman Ali Aga and ODI captain Shaheen Afridi to continue in leadership roles along with white-ball head coach Mike Hesson.
Hesson will continue in his role as white-ball head coach as per his existing contract. Following clear instructions from the board, Hesson and ODI captain Shaheen Afridi have started their preparations for the 2027 ICC ODI World Cup.
This mega event is to be hosted by South Africa, Zimbabwe and Namibia. Pakistan’s next international assignment is the upcoming tour of Bangladesh for a three-match ODI series in Dhaka, from March 11 to 15.
Sarfaraz Ahmed replaces Azhar Mahmood as Test coach
While the white-ball setup will remain the same, the Pakistan cricket team will see a major change in its coaching staff for the Test team. Former Pakistan all-rounder Azhar Mahmood has officially resigned from the post of Test head coach.
The report said that PCB has appointed former national captain Sarfaraz Ahmed as the coach of the red-ball team. Sarfaraz will take up his new coaching responsibility as soon as he returns from Abu Dhabi.
High-Performance Center director Aaqib Javed will continue in his role, but selector Aleem Dar has resigned, and will be replaced by a new selector on the committee.
Pakistan’s mixed performance in T20 World Cup 2026
Pakistan’s campaign in the recently concluded T20 World Cup was full of ups and downs. They made a positive start to their campaign by defeating the Netherlands by three wickets in the group stage before registering a win over the United States of America (USA).
However, they suffered a 61-run defeat against arch-rivals India. They bounced back with an impressive 102-run win over Namibia to progress to the next round.
In the Super Eights stage, their opening match against New Zealand was washed out due to rain. After this they had to face defeat from England. Pakistan concluded their World Cup campaign with a narrow five-run win over Sri Lanka, but it was not enough to seal a place in the semi-finals.
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