Wahab Riaz, Abdul Razzaq 'removed' from PCB selection body

• Wahab Riaz, Abdul Razzaq sacked after T20 World Cup disaster.
• PCB had announced a new 7-member selection panel in March 2024.
• Mohsin Naqvi has started consultations on future of cricket.
  

LAHORE: Following a disappointing performance of the national team during the T20 World Cup 2024, Wahab Riaz and Abdul Razzaq have reportedly been removed from the Pakistan Cricket Board’s (PCB) selection committee, Geo News reported late Tuesday night, citing sources.

Mohammad Yousuf, Asad Shafiq and Bilal Afzal are still part of the seven-member panel which also includes the captain and head coach.

As per the sources, the PCB management had lost confidence in the duo and their opinions had not been taken into account for some time now.

“Their influence was significant in the selection of the T20 World Cup squad and they showed more support to players who did not perform well.”

The board had reorganized the men’s national selection committee, having equal powers in March earlier this year in order to bring more transparency in the process, but the team selected by the panel failed to deliver in all the series since then.

Following the T20 World Cup debacle, PCB Chairman Mohsin Naqvi announced “major surgery” to improve the performance of the team and has started consultations in this regard.

The PCB chief chaired two important meetings on Tuesday. First, he met with Pakistan’s white-ball coach Gary Kirsten and red-ball coach Jason Gillespie to discuss important matters.

During the meeting, a decision was taken to formulate a comprehensive plan to improve the batting, bowling and fielding of the Pakistan cricket team.

Earlier, he met more than two dozen former and current players to discuss the future of cricket in the country.

The meeting began with a presentation by Naqvi titled “Pathway to Pakistan Cricket” which explained the steps a cricketer goes through to make it to the national team.

COO, PCB Salman Naseer, Director High Performance, Nadeem Khan, Director International, Usman Wahla, Director – Domestic Cricket Operations, Abdullah Khurram Niazi, Member Selection Committee – Bilal Afzal and other PCB officials were also present on this occasion.

The attendees of the meeting included Abdur Rauf, Aamer Malik, Asim Kamal, Azhar Khan, Azhar Mahmood, Basit Ali, Haroon Rashid, Ijaz Ahmed, Intikhab Alam, Iqbal Qasim, Mohammad Sami, Rashid Khan, Saleem Altaf, Saleem Yousuf, Salman Butt, Sarfaraz Ahmed, Sadiq Mohammad, Shafiq Ahmad, Shafqat Rana, Sikander Bakht, Wajahatullah Wasti, Yasir Hameed and Yasir Shah.