look news india
New Delhi, July 10 (HS). For the first time after Pakistan's disappointing performance in the T20 World Cup campaign, Wahab Riaz and Abdul Razzaq have been removed from the post of selectors from the national team. Razzaq was appointed to the selection committee for both the men's and women's teams a few weeks ago, but now he will not work as a selector for the women's team as well. It is understood that his removal will be officially announced later this week.
According to ESPNcricinfo, Wahab's job was in danger after Pakistan's group stage exit from the T20 World Cup. Despite being removed as chief selector earlier this year and officially appointed as one of seven selectors on a committee that had no head, Wahab was widely regarded as the de facto head of the committee. Internally, Wahab had expressed disappointment at this public perception, mainly because it resulted in him bearing the brunt of any criticism for decisions taken by the committee.
As reported earlier, the composition of the selection committee is also likely to be restructured, with the chief selector expected to be reappointed eventually. The size of the panel is also expected to be reduced, making it unlikely that Wahab and Razzaq will be replaced to make up the numbers.
Wahab's departure is a sharp drop in esteem for a man considered very close to PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi. Wahab had served as caretaker sports minister in Naqvi's Cabinet when the latter was appointed Punjab caretaker chief minister, and followed him to the PCB, where he was initially appointed chief selector.
Wahab also travelled with the Pakistan team to the T20 World Cup as the senior team manager, another responsibility he is likely to be removed from. Naqvi is believed to be keen to publicly demonstrate that no one is safe from adverse consequences.
The decision effectively means the PCB has taken another U-turn on the process of picking players for the Pakistan national team. The seven-member committee was announced less than four months ago, demoting Wahab from chief selector, with each of the seven members having equal votes, and Naqvi had said at the time that the committee would “take a majority decision based on debate and argument to arrive at a satisfactory conclusion”.
It also signals a continuation of the instability that has plagued the selection committee in recent years. In the past four years, the PCB has seen six chief selectors, with Wahab, Haroon Rashid, Shahid Afridi, Inzamam-ul-Haq, Mohammad Wasim and Misbah-ul-Haq all serving brief tenures. The remaining five members of the selection committee are the head coach and captain of the respective formats, Mohammad Yousuf, Asad Shafiq and data analyst Bilal Afzal.