Shoaib Akhtar: PCB looking to the future now

In a stunning interview after Pakistan lost the second Test of their tour against England by 194 runs at Lord's, Akhtar revealed the PCB is looking to drop virtually the entire squad that went on tour and replace them with younger players, with a look to rebuilding the team over the next two years.

The result left Pakistan 2-0 behind in the three-match series and sparked an instant reaction from the PCB, with seven players being sent home ahead of the final Test, as well as Sarfaraz Ahmed and Umar Gul being removed from their coaching roles, with Akhtar predicting even more changes after the series is concluded.

"The PCB itself was very disappointed by these people, and they don't expect anything from this Pakistan squad," he said

"The plan is to remove this squad and replace them with younger and newer blood. Players who just want to play for Pakistan. They are looking at the future now, and they are working at it in the right way."

While he supports the drastic changes in general, Akhtar hopes a few players will remain part of the team.

"In this transition, I just want Shaheen Shah Afridi, Naseem Shah and Haris Rauf's careers to be saved. These guys have a lot of cricket left in them," he said.

"We have expectations from the next generation of players that we are preparing for the big stage."

When asked if it came as a surprise that the PCB made such extreme changes to the team in the middle of a Test series, Akhtar replied: "What is the shock there? Didn't you expect that? "We didn't have the fight in us."

READ MORE: Pakistan players used to 'chaos' says interim Test coach Mike Hesson