(Image source: X.com)
[Saba Sports News] The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) appointed Wahab Riaz as the chief selector of men’s national team on Friday.
Wahab will succeed Inzamam-ul-Haq who resigned from the post midway through the ODI World Cup 2023 due to allegations of conflict of interest.
Inzamam had expressed his interest of taking back the role after the investigation, which is being carried out on him by a five-member committee formed by the PCB.
Wahab retired from international cricket earlier this year. However, he is yet to hang his boots from franchise cricket officially. He played for Peshawar Zalmi in the Pakistan Super League in the last season. Although, the franchise confirmed that he is no longer associated with them.
“Heading a selection committee is a challenging task. We have a significant Australia tour coming up that is part of the ICC World Test Championship 2023-25 cycle and a T20I series against New Zealand that will allow us to develop a formidable unit leading up to the ICC T20 World Cup in the USA and West Indies in June next year,” Wahab said in a video message released by the PCB.
“I have a good rapport with the Pakistan Men’s Team Director Mohammad Hafeez and we will be working closely for the success of Pakistan cricket. My primary goal would be to give weightage to the top performers in domestic cricket and announce well-rounded squads equipped with the necessary skill sets. I will always be available to the players for feedback and advice,” he added.
Wahab’s first assignment will be to select the team for the three-Test tour of Australia. In his playing career, he featured in 154 international matches for Pakistan, claiming 237 wickets across all formats.
Notably, Pakistan cricket is going through a transformation after suffering a league-stage exit in the World Cup 2023. Babar Azam has relinquished his captaincy. Shan Masood and Shaheen Afridi were announced as the new Test and T20I skippers respectively.
Mohammad Hafeez has been given the role of the Director of Cricket. He will also serve as the head coach of the team on temporary basis for Australia and New Zealand tours.