Pakistan Cricket Board Launches Inquiry Amid Turbulent England Tour
Pakistan’s chaotic tour of England has taken another sharp turn, with the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) launching an internal inquiry into “discipline and conduct” inside a dressing room already under heavy strain.
The team trail 2-0 in the three-match Test series. The cricket has been poor; the noise around it, deafening.
Turbulent tour boils over
The upheaval began last week. Seven players were sent home, seven replacements summoned, and head coach Sarfaraz Ahmed was removed from his role, with New Zealander Mike Hesson drafted in as his successor.
That alone would mark a crisis for most touring sides. Pakistan have gone further.
During the second Test at Lord’s, tensions spiked when the tourists threatened to cancel not just the remainder of the match, but the entire tour. The flashpoint was an interview broadcast by Sky with the sons of Imran Khan, the imprisoned former Pakistan prime minister and World Cup-winning captain, whose legacy still looms over the national team.
In that charged atmosphere, the PCB has now moved to formalise its response.
PCB closes ranks
In a statement released on Monday morning, the board confirmed it had “initiated an internal disciplinary inquiry following media reports concerning discipline and conduct, which are currently being reviewed internally”.
The PCB stressed that it was dealing with the matter “in accordance with its standard procedures” and “under PCB regulations”, insisting that “all concerned individuals are given due consideration”.
The language is careful but pointed. The board explicitly referenced “speculative reports” and “hostile external sources”, a clear attempt to push back against a swirl of stories around the squad.
The message was blunt: trust us, not them.
“At this stage, any speculative reports or unverified claims circulating on certain platforms, particularly those originating from hostile external sources, should not be regarded as credible,” the statement added, before drawing a firm line: “The PCB will not comment further at this time. The Board advises stakeholders and the public to rely on official PCB communications.”
Hesson firefighting off the field
Hesson, barely settled in his new role, has already been forced into damage-control mode.
Last week he addressed reports that Salman Ali Agha, one of the seven players dropped, had refused to attend a meeting with King Charles at Clarence House. Hesson rejected that version of events, keen to shut down a story that hinted at deeper cultural and political fault lines on tour.
He also dismissed suggestions that the call-ups of Mohammad Imran and Mohammad Imran Jr were the product of confusion inside the PCB over their near-identical names. For a board under scrutiny, even routine selection decisions have been dragged into the spotlight.
More questions than answers
For now, the PCB’s inquiry remains behind closed doors. No names, no charges, no timelines. Only the promise of process, and a firm warning not to trust anything that does not carry the board’s letterhead.
On the field, Pakistan still have one Test left to salvage a measure of pride. Off it, the sense grows that this tour will be remembered less for the cricket and more for the storm that followed them from the pavilion to the boardroom.
