Hesson breaks silence on Salman Agha’s absence from King Charles meeting

BIRMINGHAM: Pakistan white-ball and interim red-ball head coach Mike Hesson has dismissed speculation surrounding Salman Ali Agha’s absence from the team’s meeting with King Charles III at Clarence House.

Pakistan’s squad was invited to the royal engagement during its ongoing Test tour of England, with the players and officials meeting King Charles ahead of the third Test at Edgbaston.

However, the absence of all-rounder Salman Ali Agha from the gathering sparked speculation, with reports suggesting that his non-attendance could have been linked to the changes made to Pakistan’s Test squad.

The speculation centred on a perceived snub or protest against the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) following Agha’s omission from the Test squad for the third Test.

Apart from T20I captain Agha, Aamer Jamal, Ali Usman, Awais Zafar and Khurram Shahzad were also among the released players who were present at the royal meeting, while Imam-ul-Haq and Mohammad Rizwan had already returned home.

Hesson, however, rejected the suggestions and clarified that the three players, including Agha, had already been released from the squad before he joined the team.

Speaking during a recent media conference, the New Zealander said the players had also been informed in advance that they would not attend the Buckingham Palace engagement.

“Look, I know there’s been a void in the news, but people are just making up stories. Salman Ali Agha, as I’ve said, the three players were released from the squad before I arrived, well before Buckingham Palace,” Hesson said.

“They were sent a note at that time that these three players would not be attending Buckingham Palace. So, someone’s just made something up,” he added.

The  51-year-old further explained that there had been no last-minute changes to the list of attendees and that the remaining members of the squad were already included.

“In terms of the other players, all of the rest of the players that were in the squad were already on the list. I was already on the list as the white-ball head coach, so there have been no changes to it,” he said.

“It was all very straightforward. Someone’s just got two and two together and come up with nine. For me, that’s unacceptable journalism,” Hesson concluded.

For the unversed, Agha was among the seven players released from Pakistan’s Test squad ahead of the third match, with several new faces drafted into the side following heavy defeats in Leeds and Lord’s.

Pakistan have also reshuffled their coaching set-up, with Sarfaraz Ahmed and Umar Gul released from their respective roles, while Mike Hesson and bowling coach Ashley Noffke will now oversee the Test side on an interim basis.

Updated Pakistan squad for third Test against England

Babar Azam (captain), Abdullah Fazal, Arafat Minhas, Azan Awais, Mohammad Abbas, Mohammad Ali, Muhammad Imran, Mohammad Imran Jnr, Muhammad Ghazi Ghori (wicketkeeper), Razaullah, Saad Baig (wicketkeeper), Saim Ayub, Sajid Khan, Saud Shakeel, Shan Masood and Ubaid Shah.