After a disappointing T20 World Cup 2024 campaign, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) removed Wahab Riaz and Abdul Razzaq from the role of national selectors. This resulted in the former Pakistani all-rounder Shahid Afridi breaking his silence over removing Riaz and Razzaq from the selection body. 

The governing body has recruited a new five-member selection committee for the national cricket team. It becomes evident that Abdul Razzaq, appointed a few weeks back as a selector for both men’s and women’s teams will no longer serve his role. Also, there have been speculations that Babar Azam might be removed as T20I captain, but will continue as the ODI skipper

PCB has taken a huge step by appointing captains and coaches of the team as a part of the selection panel. According to the information provided by the Dawn News, Pakistan’s limited overs head coach Gary Kirsten was appointed as the chief selector along with the red-ball format head coach Jason Gillespie. 

Shockingly, the captains of the team namely Babar Azam in the white-ball format and Shan Masood in test cricket are appointed as part of the selection panel. Additionally, Mohammad Yousuf and Asad Shafiq are included in the selection committee for the Pakistan cricket team.

Pakistan 5-Member Selection Committee New List 2024

Here is the new list of Pakistan’s 5 member selection committee tabulated below:

Reasons for Pakistan’s Failure in T20 World Cup 2024

The Pakistan cricket team led by Babar Azam failed to qualify for the Super 8 rounds of the T20 World Cup 2024 after facing back-to-back humiliating defeats against the USA and India in the group stages.

Also, the reappointment of Babar Azam as a captain by replacing Shaheen Afridi was the starting point of controversy ahead of the T20 World Cup 2024. Certainly, there was conflict among the players in the team, but the Board insisted that they wanted to maintain a positive and supportive atmosphere among the players in the dressing room.

Typically, teams practice on the cricket grounds ahead of any big tournaments. In contrast, the Pakistan cricket team underwent unusual training methods such as firing guns, tug-of-war, and running with rocks at the Army School in Abbottabad, two months before the T20 WC 2024 tournament.  This was one of the main reasons behind Pakistan’s failure in the tournament in terms of batting, bowling, and fielding department.

Shahid Afridi Opens up against PCB’s decision

In a recent interview, Shahid Afridi told the reporters that he wasn’t able to understand PCB’s latest strange move to remove Wahab Riaz and Abdul Razzaq from the selection committee:

“Just came to know about it. I was extremely shocked knowing the news. They (PCB) have sidelined Wahab Riaz and Abdul Razzaq. I can’t understand what kind of surgery is this all about. If the selection committee consists of 6–7 people then why only these two members have been removed?

Rather, the decision should be taken by the captain or coach of the team and give them additional time. In the case of Babar Azam, he has been captain of the team in so many matches and no other captain in the world gets multiple chances. As soon as the World Cup is completed, it is the captain who becomes the first one to get blamed. Babar captained in 2 to 3 World Cups and Asia Cups and I believe that he got enough opportunities,” Afridi said. 

Shahid Afridi criticizes the PCB for dismissing Riaz and Razzaq while referring to the initiative “the surgery” mentioned earlier by the chairman Mohsin Naqvi to reform the organization. The 47-year-old ex-Pakistani cricketer believes that major changes should have been rather than just removing these two members.

Conclusion

PCB has shown a lot of inconsistency in recent times by frequently changing the committee members as well as the team’s captains. Including Wahab Riaz, the board has changed six chief selectors in the last four years.

However, Babar Azam wouldn’t be removed from the team, but his position as a captain seems to be under threat. Overall, it is a challenge for the Pakistan cricket team to recover from the recent flop show of the T20 World Cup and resume their international cricket in August 2024, starting with a 2-match test series against Bangladesh. This marks the beginning of a busy home season for Pakistan and a chance to prove itself as one of the most competitive cricket teams in the world