Danial Rasoul
The first casualties in the aftermath of Pakistan’s disappointing T20 World Cup performance have been reported, with Wahab Riaz and Abdul Razzaq both being removed from their roles as national team selectors. Razzaq, who was appointed as selector for both the men’s and women’s teams a few weeks ago, will also no longer serve as selector for the women’s team. His departure is expected to be formally announced later this week.
As ESPNcricinfo reported last month, Wahab’s job was in jeopardy after Pakistan’s elimination in the group stage of the T20 World Cup. Despite being relieved of his position as chief selector earlier this year and formally appointed as one of seven selectors on a committee that had no chief at all, Wahab was widely seen as the de facto head of the committee. Within the committee, Wahab was increasingly frustrated by this public perception, mainly because he found himself bearing the brunt of criticism for the committee’s decisions.
As previously reported, the nature of the selection committee is also likely to be restructured, ultimately resulting in the reappointment of the chief selector. The number of members of the selection committee is expected to be reduced, making it unlikely that Wahab and Razak will be replaced to make up for the loss.
Wahab’s resignation is a swift fall for someone who is seen as very close to PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi. Wahab served in Naqvi’s cabinet as caretaker sports minister during Naqvi’s appointment as Punjab’s caretaker chief minister and followed Naqvi into the PCB, initially as chief selector. Wahab also toured with Pakistan to the T20 World Cup as senior team manager, a role which is likely to be stripped away as well. Naqvi, meanwhile, is thought to have been keen to show publicly that no one is immune to repercussions.
The decision means Pakistan’s national team selection committee has effectively shifted its player selection process again. The seven-member committee was announced just under four months ago, with Wahab demoted from his role as selector chairman and each of the seven members having an equal number of votes. Naqvi said at the time that the committee would “take a majority vote based on discussion and debate to reach a satisfactory conclusion.”
It also marks the continuation of the instability that has plagued the selection committee in recent years, which has had six selection chairpersons in the past four years – Wahab, Haroon Rashid, Shahid Afridi, Inzamam-ul-Haq, Mohammed Wasim and Misbah-ul-Haq – all of whom served short terms.
The remaining five members of the selection committee are the head coaches and captains of each format, Mohammed Yousaf and Asad Shafiq, and data analyst Bilal Afzal.
Danyal Rasool is ESPNcricinfo’s Pakistan correspondent. @Danny61000
