11 coaches have reset in the last five years and are still looking for answers: Inside Pakistan cricket’s never-ending coaching carousel

Pakistan 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 change in management and another coaching regime begins before the previous one has had enough time to establish itself. The final shock came in August 2026 when the Pakistan Cricket Board sacked 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 put in charge of the Test side as Pakistan made sweeping changes ahead of the third Test. Seven players were also sent home.The episode once again highlighted Pakistan’s long-standing problem with coaching stability. Since the resignation of Misbah-ul-Haq in September 2021, the national team has gone through a series of permanent, interim and split coaching arrangements.Rather than a straight line of succession, Pakistan’s coaching history during this period resembles a revolving door.

From Misbah to Saqlain: The first reset

Misbah-ul-Haq was appointed as 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 resigned in September 2021 despite having a year left on their contracts.PCB immediately turned to Saqlain Mushtaq and Abdul Razzaq as interim coach 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. For the 2023 World Cup, the structure saw Arthur as director, Bradburn as head coach and a wider support staff.

2023-24: Another major rebuild

After the 2023 World Cup, Pakistan moved away from the Arthur-Bradburn setup and brought in Mohammad Hafeez in the role of team director for the Test tour of Australia and the following period. The appointment of Hafeez by the PCB was part of another wider restructuring, with Pakistan repeatedly changing not only coaches but also the titles and responsibilities associated with senior management positions.Then came perhaps the most ambitious coaching experiment of the time.In April 2024, Pakistan appointed Jason Gillespie as the red-ball head coach and Gary Kirsten as the white-ball head coach, both on two-year contracts. Azhar Mahmood has been appointed as the assistant coach across all formats.The split was designed to provide specialized guidance for the two versions of the game. Kirsten, who previously coached India at the 2011 ODI World Cup, was to oversee Pakistan’s white-ball program while Gillespie was tasked with rebuilding the Test side.However, the arrangement only lasted for months. Kirsten resigned in October 2024 and the PCB handed Gillespie responsibility for the white-ball tour of Australia on an interim basis.In November, Aqib Javed was appointed as the interim white-ball head coach until the 2025 Champions Trophy. Gillespie’s own term then ended in December 2024, after which Aqib was also given interim responsibility for the red-ball side.In fact, Pakistan switched from the two specialist coaches model to another interim arrangement in the same calendar year.

2025: Hesson arrives, Azhar takes over with the red ball

Aqib’s interim white-ball stint continued until 2025 before the PCB appointed Mike Hesson as the permanent head white-ball coach in May. Hesson took over from Aqib and started his tenure on 26 May 2025. The PCB highlighted his previous international experience with New Zealand and Kenya as well as his work in franchise cricket.In June 2025, Azhar Mahmood was appointed as the Red Ball Acting Head Coach, taking over the role vacated by earlier coaching changes.Azhar subsequently continued to oversee the Test side until 2025, including the home series against South Africa. The PCB has identified him as the red ball head coach for this series. The split between Hesson’s white-ball role and Azhar’s red-ball responsibilities seemed to offer Pakistan a chance to finally establish some continuity.But the test setup changed again.

2026: Sarfaraz gets a Test job – then loses it midway through the series

Former Pakistan captain Sarfaraz Ahmed was appointed as the head coach of the red ball ahead of the 2026 Test series in Bangladesh. The appointment was notable as Sarfaraz went straight from a playing career to a coaching role in the national set-up. He has previously worked with the Pakistan Shaheens and U19s, which has given him exposure to several players coming through the system.However, his tenure lasted only a few months.Pakistan’s disastrous start to the 2026 England Test series has taken another dramatic hit. After defeats in Leeds and at Lord’s, PCB removed Sarfaraz and bowling coach Umar Gul while also sending home seven players. Hesson, who was initially appointed as Pakistan’s white-ball head coach, was also brought in to take charge of the Test side.