Wahab Riaz and Abdul Razzaq have been sacked from the Pakistan Cricket Board selection committee. The fallout from Pakistan’s dismal show in T20 World Cup 2024 saw Riaz and Razzaq losing their place as national selectors. Both Riaz and Razzaq were part of the seven-member selection committee that picked the squad for the marquee tournament.
An internal PCB enquiry is believed to have found discrepancies in many of the committee’s decisions. It is also being informed that the decision is also connected with the feedback that has been received from the many members of the touring committee, including the manager, coach and possibly even the captain, Babar Azam.
Former Pakistan captain and ex-head of the PCB, Ramiz Raja, had criticised the selection of the team. Especially the inclusion of Imad Wasim and Mohammad Amir, who returned to the team after coming out of retirement. Furthermore, Riaz and Razzaq taking part in the ongoing World Championship of Legends, which is being played in Birmingham has not gone down well with the PCB authorities. Their decision to take part in charity games during a time when PCB is under immense pressure is not being well-supported.
Fallout in Pakistan team begins
The PCB had announced a selection committee, without a chairman three months ago. Alongside Riaz and Razzaq, the committee included Mohammad Yousuf and Asad Shafiq, the national team’s captain and head coach Gary Kirsten. Wahab was removed as the chief selector earlier this year and had travelled with the Pakistan side as senior team manager. This could be another duty from which he could be stripped off.
The musical chairs within the PCB continued with yet another sacking. The board had six chief selectors in the last four years, including Riaz. The other five are Haroon Rashid, Shahid Afridi, Inzamam-ul-Haq, Mohammad Wasim and Misbah-ul-Haq. None of them were given a long stint to improve and restructure the team.
