Former Pakistan captain Misbah-ul-Haq has stepped down from his role in the national selection committee and as a batting consultant, a day after the PCB made sweeping changes to the Test squad during the England tour.
Misbah-ul-Haq has resigned from his position on Pakistan's men's national selection committee and relinquished his role as batting consultant at the National Cricket Academy in Lahore. The departure comes immediately after the Pakistan Cricket Board implemented significant changes to the Test squad and coaching staff following the team's loss at Lord's in the ongoing England tour.
The PCB removed seven players from the Test squad—Mohammad Rizwan, Imam-ul-Haq, Salman Agha, Ali Usman, Aamer Jamal, Awais Zafar, and Khurram Shahzad—and released head coach Sarfaraz Ahmed and bowling coach Umar Gul ahead of the third Test at Edgbaston beginning September 9. The changes followed Pakistan falling 2-0 behind in the three-match series. Five uncapped players and two others will join the squad to replace those released, while Mike Hesson and Ashley Noffke from the white-ball coaching setup have been added to the Test coaching staff.
According to reports, the PCB issued notices to selection committee members requesting written explanations for the inclusion of Rizwan and Imam in squads for the West Indies and England tours. The notice was served the same day the squad changes were announced. From the start of 2024 until the West Indies tour, Rizwan had been Pakistan's leading Test run-scorer with the highest average, while Imam, despite limited Test appearances in that period, had strong domestic performance records.
Misbah, who retired as Pakistan's most successful Test captain in 2017, has held various positions within the PCB structure since then. He served as head coach and chief selector before stepping down from the selector role in 2020 to focus on coaching, ultimately resigning from that position the following year. He was reappointed to the four-member selection committee in March of this year alongside Aaqib Javed, Sarfaraz Ahmed, and Asad Shafiq.