Photo via Hindustan Times

Wasim Akram plays ‘devil’s advocate', sympathises with PCB for sending 7 players back: ‘They too have a limit’

Following devastating defeats in the opening two Tests against England—an innings-and-103-run thrashing at Headingley and a 194-run setback at Lord's, where Pakistan never reached 200 runs in an innings—the Pakistan Cricket Board and chairman Mohsin Naqvi removed seven players from the touring party. The sweeping changes discarded Mohammad Rizwan, Salman Ali Agha, and Imam-ul-Haq, alongside dressing-room exits for Sarfaraz Ahmed and Umar Gul, while limited-overs mentor Mike Hesson stepped up to lead the side for the Birmingham finale.

Although the unprecedented purge triggered heavy criticism from commentators like Michael Atherton, Nasser Hussain, Basit Ali, and Kamran Akmal, Wasim Akram offered a sympathetic viewpoint regarding the board's drastic intervention.