Pakistan’s Coaching Carousel (Agency Images) Pakistan cricket has developed a familiar pattern over the past five years: a disappointing series or tournament is followed by a management reshuffle, and another coaching regime begins before the previous one has had enough time to establish itself. The latest upheaval came in August 2026, when the Pakistan Cricket Board removed Test head coach Sarfaraz Ahmed after the team lost the first two Tests of the series against England.
White-ball head coach Mike Hesson was handed charge of the Test side as Pakistan made sweeping changes ahead of the third Test. Seven players were also sent home.
The episode has once again put the spotlight on Pakistan's long-running problem with coaching stability. Since Misbah-ul-Haq stepped down in September 2021, the national team has gone through a succession of permanent, interim and split-format coaching arrangements.
Rather than a straightforward line of succession, Pakistan's coaching history in this period resembles a revolving door. From Misbah to Saqlain: The first resetMisbah-ul-Haq was appointed head coach and chief selector in 2019, beginning a period in which Pakistan operated under an all-format coaching structure.
He and bowling coach Waqar Younis stepped down in September 2021, despite having a year remaining on their contracts. The PCB immediately turned to Saqlain Mushtaq and Abdul Razzaq as interim coaches for the upcoming New Zealand series.
Saqlain subsequently became the permanent head coach, overseeing Pakistan across formats until the end of 2022-23. His tenure was followed by another transition in 2023, when the PCB experimented with a new structure involving Grant Bradburn as head coach and Mickey Arthur as team director.
Bradburn was formally appointed head coach in May 2023 on a two-year contract after working with the team during the New Zealand series. 2023-24: Another major reshuffleFollowing the 2023 World Cup, Pakistan moved away from the Arthur-Bradburn setup and brought Mohammad Hafeez into a team-director role for the Test tour of Australia and the subsequent period.
The PCB's appointment of Hafeez was part of another broader restructuring, with Pakistan repeatedly changing not only coaches but also the titles and responsibilities attached to senior management positions. Then came perhaps the most ambitious coaching experiment of the period.
In April 2024, Pakistan appointed Jason Gillespie as red-ball head coach and Gary Kirsten as white-ball head coach, both on two-year contracts. Azhar Mahmood was named assistant coach across all formats.
