Pakistan’s white-ball and interim red-ball head coach Mike Hesson has rejected speculation surrounding Salman Ali Agha’s absence from the team’s meeting with King Charles III at Clarence House.
Pakistan’s squad received an invitation to the royal engagement during their ongoing Test tour of England. The players and officials met King Charles ahead of the third Test at Edgbaston.
Agha’s absence from the gathering sparked speculation. Reports suggested his non-attendance could have been linked to changes made to Pakistan’s Test squad, with some framing it as a possible snub or protest against the Pakistan Cricket Board following his omission from the squad for the third Test.
Aamer Jamal, Ali Usman, Awais Zafar and Khurram Shahzad, who were also released from the squad, attended the royal meeting alongside Agha’s teammates. Imam-ul-Haq and Mohammad Rizwan had already returned home by that point.
Hesson rejected the claims and clarified that Agha and two other players had been released from the squad before he joined the team. He said the players had also been informed in advance that they would not attend the Buckingham Palace engagement.
“Look, I know there’s been a void in the news, but people are just making up stories. Salman Ali Agha, as I’ve said, the three players were released from the squad before I arrived, well before Buckingham Palace,” Hesson said during a media conference.
“They were sent a note at that time that these three players would not be attending Buckingham Palace. So, someone’s just made something up,” he added.
The 51-year-old New Zealander explained there had been no last-minute changes to the list of attendees, and the remaining squad members were already included on it.
“In terms of the other players, all of the rest of the players that were in the squad were already on the list. I was already on the list as the white-ball head coach, so there have been no changes to it,” he said.
“It was all very straightforward. Someone’s just got two and two together and come up with nine. For me, that’s unacceptable journalism,” Hesson concluded.
Agha was among seven players released from Pakistan’s Test squad ahead of the third match, with several new faces brought into the side following heavy defeats in Leeds and Lord’s.
Pakistan have also reshuffled their coaching setup. Sarfaraz Ahmed and Umar Gul were released from their roles, while Mike Hesson and bowling coach Ashley Noffke will now oversee the Test side on an interim basis.
