PCB appoints Wahab Riaz as Pakistan’s chief selector

Karachi : The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) on Friday named former pacer Wahab Riaz as the chief selector of the men’s national team.

After their disastrous campaign in the ICC World Cup 2023 in India, the Pakistan team have made many changes to reshape their set-up. He will take over from Inzamam-ul-Haq, who had tendered his resignation during the tournament.

The recent announcement is one of many new appointments made by Pakistan following a poor World Cup performance. Babar Azam stepped down as captain of all forms, with Shan Masood and Shaheen Afridi taking his place as red-ball and T20I leaders, respectively.

His first assignment will be the selection of the national men’s squad for the three-match Test series against Australia from December 14 to January 7 in Australia and the five-match T20I series against New Zealand from 12 to 21 January in New Zealand.

Wahab, who made his international debut in 2008, represented Pakistan in 27 Tests, 91 ODIs and 36 T20Is picking up 237 wickets and scoring 1200 runs across the three formats. He was Pakistan’s second-most successful bowler in World Cups, registering 35 wickets across three editions of the marquee event.

“I am honoured to assume the role of chairperson for the national men’s selection committee and I extend my gratitude to the Chairman of PCB Management Committee, Zaka Ashraf, for entrusting me with this responsibility. The decision to involve former players in cricketing matters is commendable and I am willing to work for the betterment of Pakistan cricket,” Wahab Riaz said in an official statement released by PCB.

“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,” he added.

“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,” Riaz added.

Pakistan failed to make it to the semi-final of the 2023 World Cup, with only four wins in nine games taking them to the 5th spot in the table.