Former England skipper Michael Atherton has questioned Babar Azam’s authority as Pakistan captain amid the three-match Test series against England. After suffering a 194-run loss against England in the second Test, PCB made plenty of changes to the squad.

After the loss, head coach Sarfaraz Ahmed and bowling coach Umar Gul were also removed from their roles. Mike Hesson, Pakistan’s white-ball coach, has been given charge of the Test side ahead of the third and final match at Edgbaston.

“Not in this instance, no, because of the damage it will do in the long term. This is no way to manage players and no way to build a long-term vision at all,” Atherton said on the Sky Sports Cricket Podcast.

“I feel it’s a horrible position for a captain, Babar Azam, to be in – and what kind of authority does he or indeed any captain of Pakistan have in this outfit?” he added.

Meanwhile, Azam, who was leading Pakistan in the second Test match, returned with scores of eight and six against the English team.

The right-hander received a good delivery from Josh Tongue in the first innings and then looked in all sorts of trouble against a snorter from Jofra Archer in the second innings. The flamboyant batter had missed the opening Test due to a finger injury.

Atherton questioned Babar Azam’s authority within the squad amid all the chaos.

“One understands that the captain is not all-powerful these days, you’re not going back 30 years ago when they perhaps ran the show, but they have to have some authority within a team,” said Atherton.

The third and final Test between England and Pakistan will be played at Edgbaston, Birmingham, from September 9 onwards.