Former captain Sarfaraz Ahmed is likely to take charge as the new head coach of the Pakistan national cricket team in the longest format of the game. Doubts also remain over Mike Hesson’s white-ball coaching role.
Pakistan are not going through the best of their cricketing years, as they have recently been knocked out of the fourth consecutive ICC tournament. Since the 2023 ICC Cricket World Cup, Pakistan has failed to make the knockouts of any ICC tournament, including the Champions Trophy they host.
Additionally, Pakistan’s record in the ICC World Test Championship is even worse, as they have failed to even make the top 4 since the start of 2019. Given their poor form, they are likely to bring in a new specialist coach for the longer format.
Former Pakistan captain will take over as Pakistan’s Test coach
Pakistan does not have a red-ball coach in a permanent role after former Australian fast bowler Jason Gillespie stepped down from the post. Although they got Mike Hesson as Gary Kirsten’s replacement in the white-ball format, the red-ball management was taken over by former Pakistani all-rounder Azhar Mahmood, who was appointed to the interim role.
However, Pakistan started 50-50 in this format, playing only one Test series in this WTC cycle. Therefore, the PCB has finally called for a permanent appointment to the Test team.
According to Pakistani media reports, former Pakistani captain Sarfaraz Ahmed will be the new head coach of Pakistan’s Test team. An official announcement will be made soon, and he is expected to start at his position during Pakistan’s upcoming Test series against Bangladesh.
Sarfaraz Ahmed’s career statistics for Pakistan
Former Pakistan star Sarfaraz Ahmed has been a part of many great matches for them. However, it has not been long since he announced his retirement from international cricket and the PCB wants to use his experience to lead the current team.
Sarfaraz Ahmed, a veteran of 54 Test and 117 ODI matches for Pakistan, had scored 3031 and 2315 runs in both the formats. He also played 61 T20 matches for Pakistan and scored 818 runs while batting in the lower order.
Sarfaraz Ahmed was the last Pakistani captain to win an ICC tournament. He is one of the two Pakistani captains to win ICC trophies in this decade. Under the guidance of Sarfaraz Ahmed, Pakistan won the ICC Champions Trophy in 2017.
Will Mike Hesson remain Pakistan’s white-ball coach after being ruled out of the T20 World Cup?
Pakistan has been ruled out of the ICC T20 World Cup 2026, resulting in a big question mark over Mike Hesson’s strategies and his continuation as head coach of the limited overs format.
The PCB has received several complaints about the Pakistan head coach, as players have complained about his stubborn attitude and his nature of not listening to anyone and taking decisions without consulting the team and captain.
After being eliminated from the World Cup, Pakistan players have had to suffer massive financial penalties and their careers are also at stake, for which they have collectively blamed the coach.
Also read: Pakistani cricketers hate Mike Hesson, official complaint to Mohsin Naqvi