“The world is laughing harder now”: Khawaja takes swipe at Aaqib Javed’s remarks after Pakistan’s major Test shake-up

Former Australian cricketer Usman Khawaja took a jibe at Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) director of high performance Aaqib Javed’s comments about the board’s major shake-up of the Test team during an ongoing series. Aaqib, while being critical of the team’s recent performances and explaining the PCB’s decision, had said that “the world is laughing at them”. Commenting under a Cricinfo post on social media, Khawaja hit back, writing, “The world is laughing harder now.”

“The world is laughing harder now”: Khawaja takes swipe at Aaqib Javed’s remarks after Pakistan’s major Test shake-up Former Australian cricketer Usman Khawaja took a jibe at Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) director of high performance Aaqib Javed’s comments about the board’s major shake-up of the Test team during an ongoing series. Aaqib, while being critical of the team’s recent performances and explaining the PCB’s decision, had said that “the world is laughing at us”. Commenting under a Cricinfo post on social media, Khawaja hit back, writing, “The world is laughing harder now.”

Pakistan made major changes to their Test set-up ahead of the third and final Test against England from September 9, replacing almost half of their squad and releasing head coach Sarfaraz Ahmed and bowling coach Umar Gul following heavy defeats in the first two Tests against Three Lions, according to Cricinfo. The changes come after Pakistan suffered a 194-run defeat in the second Test, allowing England to take an unassailable 2-0 lead in the series. In the first Test, Pakistan had lost by an innings margin. PCB released seven players from the squad, including Mohammad Rizwan, Imam-ul-Haq, Salman Agha, Ali Usman, Aamer Jamal, Awais Zafar and Khurram Shahzad after the loss at Lord's. In their place, Pakistan have brought in five uncapped players along with Saim Ayub and Abdullah Fazal, who have a combined experience of just 10 matches. The five uncapped players added to the squad are Arafat Minhas, Mohammad Imran Jnr, Saad Baig, Mohammad Imran Randhawa and Razaullah. The PCB also roped in Mike Hesson and Ashley Noffke, who are part of Pakistan's white-ball coaching set-up as head coach and bowling coach, respectively.

Speaking on Geo, as quoted by Cricinfo, Aaqib was critical of the team's performance, saying that "the world is laughing at us". He also spoke about his recommendations to skipper Babar and former coach Sarfaraz during the tour regarding the pace attack for the earlier matches, adding Ubaid Shah for some variety and extra pace and calling for an uncapped Ghazi Gori to play in place of Mohammed Rizwan. He also said that the players being sent back are given a message that performances matter and they need to up their game. Commenting under a Cricinfo post mentioning Aaqib’s “The world is laughing at us” remark, Khawaja said, “The world is laughing harder now.”

"Two Test matches have come and gone, and the team has not competed in any way," Aaqib had said. "There is one Test still to go. They [the management] had a pace allrounder available, a second wicketkeeper, a fast bowler in Ubaid Shah. But those decisions were not being made. I spoke to the captain [Babar Azam] and coach and asked them to put Ubaid in because the other bowlers [Mohammad Abbas, Mohammad Ali and Khurram Shahzad] are all similarly paced."

"No batter in our top seven bowls. We should have included an allrounder, but most importantly, get in Ubaid Shah, who bowls close to 140kph. One fast bowler changes the composition of your attack. I understand dropping [Salman] Agha, who's out of form, but you should have played Ghazi Ghori instead of [Mohammad] Rizwan [as the wicketkeeper]. Someone had to take action. The world is laughing at us because we can't even compete. The message we are sending to the recalled players is that you have to raise your game on important tours and compete, and we should be able to see some effort," he continued. Notably, Aaqib also said that no one doubted the performances of the players selected for the series, but when they were not competing at all, they (PCB) had to make a decision.

"When you are not making the right decisions despite getting messages conveyed to you to play the right combination, that is a problem. Your captain, head coach and management have some responsibilities," he said. Speaking on batter Imam allegedly faking his calf injury, he called it a "big question mark". Imam missed both the innings with the bat due to a calf injury sustained while fielding, but was seen facing throwdowns on day four with a taped calf, leading to speculations about his injury's legitimacy. Aaqib said that while he cannot say anything on the injury, there is not way that a muscle pull could stop Imam from batting altogether.

"The Imam injury is a big question mark, and a deep disappointment," Aaqib said. "Players in the past used to get injuries, but they used to put on casts and still tried [to play]. We will take action against this. How is it possible that a pulled muscle ruled you out of batting in both innings? He should have tried and fought. He will have to face an inquiry; I cannot say he faked it, but a muscle pull like that cannot stop you from batting altogether," he added.

Earlier, former Pakistan captain Misbah-ul-Haq offered his resignation from the Pakistan men's national selection committee following the Pakistan Cricket Board's (PCB) decision to make major changes to the Test squad and coaching staff during the ongoing tour of England, according to Cricinfo. According to the report, the PCB is yet to accept Misbah's resignation. He has also decided to step down from his role as a batting consultant at the National Cricket Academy in Lahore.

Misbah, who retired as Pakistan's most successful Test captain in 2017, has held several positions within the PCB over the years. He was appointed head coach and chief selector in 2019. before stepping down as chief selector in October 2020 to focus on his coaching responsibilities. He later resigned as head coach in 2021.In 2023, Misbah returned to the PCB as an advisor under then ad hoc management committee chief Zaka Ashraf. He was subsequently appointed as one of five mentors for the men's Champions Cup in 2024 and also worked with women's domestic teams. Last month, he coached the Pakistan Gold side to victory in the 50-over National Champions Cup in Multan under captain Shaheen Afridi.

Misbah was appointed to the four-member national selector committee in March this year alongside Aaqib Javed, Sarfaraz Ahmed and Asad Shafiq. He was also working with the PCB under a contract that required him to serve as a batting consultant for 180 days a year.PCB sought explanations from selectors over the inclusion of Mohammad Rizwan and Imam-ul-Haq.

According to Cricinfo, the notice was issued on Monday, the same day the board announced its decision to send home seven players and two coaches ahead of the third Test at Edgbaston. The selection committee was asked to submit a written explanation within 24 hours, detailing the reasons behind Rizwan and Imam's selections and the process followed in making the decisions.From the start of 2024 until the West Indies tour, Rizwan was Pakistan's leading Test run-scorer and also boasted the team's highest batting average. Imam, meanwhile, had featured in only two Tests during that period but had been among the leading run-scorers in domestic cricket.

The defeat at Lord's was Pakistan's 15th in the last 20 Tests. They currently sit at the bottom of the 1CC World Test Championship (WTC) 2025-27 standings. The third Test will begin at Edgbaston on September 9, with Pakistan aiming to end the series on a positive note and avoid a 3-0 clean sweep. Pakistan squad for Birmingham Test against England: Babar Azam (captain), Abdullah Fazal, Arafat Minhas, Azan Awais, Mohammad Abbas, Mohammad Ali, Muhammad Imran, Mohammad Imran Jnr, Muhammad Ghazi Ghori (wk), Razaullah, Saad Baig (wicketkeeper), Saim Ayub, Sajid Khan, Saud Shakeel, Shan Masood, Abdullah Shafique, Ubaid Shah. (ANI)