Pakistan's squad overhaul before final Test against England was 'news to me:' Babar Azam

Pakistan captain Babar Azam admitted he was blindsided by the decision to tear up his squad ahead of this week's final cricket test against England, saying the drastic cull was "news to me."

Babar learned of the wholesale changes only after an official statement by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), he said on Tuesday, the day before the third test at Edgbaston.

"It was news to me,” Babar said in Urdu. "I found out after.

"The PCB decided it, so they will be able to explain better. The PCB's decision must have been taken after some thought process. It's better if you ask them why.”

Heavy defeats at Leeds and Lord's were met with sweeping changes by the PCB, who sent seven players home and removed head coach Sarfaraz Ahmed and his assistant Umar Gul.

The replacements summoned included five with no test experience, while white-ball coach Mike Hesson and Ashley Noffke were drafted to take charge at Edgbaston.

Babar framed the remarkable overhaul as a fresh chance for the players "to showcase their talent.” None of the Pakistan squad, including Babar, has played a test at Edgbaston.

"The series is lost but we have nothing to lose,” he added. "We should play freely and believe in ourselves as a team.”

He missed the innings loss at Headingley because of a finger injury and made only 8 and 6 at Lord', where Pakistan lost by 194 runs. He said the senior players have to lead the way.

"I firmly believe you need to grab opportunities and perform in difficult conditions,” Babar said. "That's why we play cricket, because we have to perform and dominate in difficult conditions. We need to forget about past failures and shift focus to the future.”

England captain Joe Root considered it "disrespectful” to say Pakistan has showed a lack of fight on tour.

"We've found Pakistan a challenge,” Root said. "I think that's a bit disrespectful to both Pakistan as a team and to us as a team.

"I don't think we've allowed them to get into games because of how well we've played and how quickly we've read the situations and the surfaces that we've had.

"I think it's very easy to say one team is excellent and one team is poor. Normally it's somewhere in the middle. If one team has been outstanding then the other team can't have been poor and vice versa.”

Root's return to the captaincy has gone well but he has had a lean run with the bat this summer, averaging 29.44 in five tests, although pitches have been overwhelmingly in favour of seam bowlers.

Root has been lbw nine times in his past seven tests and struggled with the wicketkeeper standing up to the stumps, but he says he enjoys the challenge of trying to get back into form.

"You're always looking to find ways of improving and there's always going to be something to contend with,” he said.

"I've found it quite tricky but I always think that's the fun bit. You shouldn't be worried about what could go wrong. It should be, ‘This is a chance to go and do something special and win a game for your country.’”

Associated Press