Pakistan's massive Test shake-up: Has any team made drastic changes to their Test squad in the middle of a series before?

Pakistan's massive Test shake-up: Has any team made drastic changes to their Test squad in the middle of a series before? originally appeared on Cricket News. Add Cricket News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

KEY TAKEAWAYS:

Pakistan sent back seven players and two coaches ahead of the dead-rubber third Test at Edgbaston.

The drastic step was taken in the aftermath of a disastrous Test match loss at Lord's.

Pakistan have lost the three-match series and are out of contention for the WCT final race.

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Pakistan make wholesale changes in their Test squad in the middle of England tour

Pakistan's disastrous tour of England has gone from bad to worse as the Pakistan Cricket Board has taken a drastic step of releasing seven players from their existing Test squad.

The decision was taken in the aftermath of an embarrassing loss at Lord's. The defeat at the home of cricket meant England comfortably sealed the fate of the series and the hosts are now eyeing a whitewash at Edgbaston.

Ahead of the dead-rubber game, the players who are leaving the squad are Salman Ali Agha, Mohammad Rizwan, Imam-ul-Haq, Ali Usman, Aamir Jamal, Muhammad Awais Zafar and Khurram Shahzad.

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They have been replaced by Saim Ayub, Abdullah Fazal and Arafat Minhas, Mohammad Imran Jnr, Saad Baig, Mohammad Imran (Imran Randhawa) and Razaullah. Out of these seven, Saim Ayub, Abdullah Fazal and Arafat Minhas have played for Pakistan in the past but the remaining four are uncapped.

The coaching staff has also been reshuffled as white-ball head coach Mike Hesson will now take charge of the Test team as well, alongside Ashley Noffke. The duo will replace current head coach Sarfaraz Ahmed and bowling coach Umar Gul, who have been released by the management with immediate effect.

MORE: 7 players sent home: Pakistan take drastic action in the middle of England tour

Has any team made drastic changes to their Test squad in the middle of a series before?

There have been three notable instances in the past where a team made drastic squad changes mid-tour.

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1) Pakistan drop three players during the England tour in 2010 following match-fixing allegations

Pakistan dropped three players, Mohammed Asif, Salman Butt and Mohammed Amir, after the Test series and before the start of a white-ball contest of two T20Is and five ODIs in England after it was proved that the three Pakistan players were involved in the infamous match-fixing scandal.

2) Australia's infamous 'Homeworkgate' in 2013

Australia suffered a 4-0 whitewash in the Test series against India during their away tour in 2013. In the middle of the series, Cricket Australia suspended four players, including vice-captain Shane Watson, along with Mitchell Johnson, James Pattinson and Usman Khawaja.

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Head coach Mickey Arthur had reportedly asked every player to submit a short written assignment explaining three things they could do to improve individually and three things the team could improve after losing the first two Test matches. However, the above-mentioned players failed to submit their respective assignments, which led to Australia suspending them in the middle of the series.

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MORE: Cricket world reacts as PAK make 7 changes in the middle of ENG tour

3) Ravi Shastri replaces Duncan Fletcher as India coach in the middle of the England tour of 2014

During India's tour of England in 2014, the BCCI sacked head coach Duncan Fletcher as an embarassin 3-1 loss to England in the Test series. Ravi Shastri was appointed as the team director in the middle of the tour right before the white-ball contests replacing Fletcher. Shastri was joined by Bharat Arun and Sanjay Bangar in his coaching staff.

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