In a significant development, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has removed former cricketers Wahab Riaz and Abdul Razzaq from Pakistan’s cricket selection committee following the national team’s disappointing performance at the ICC T20 World Cup 2024. Pakistan’s early exit from the tournament, failing to progress beyond the group stages, prompted this decision aimed at restructuring the selection strategy.
The PCB’s decision was announced early Wednesday, stating that Abdul Razzaq, who was involved in both the men’s and women’s selection committees, and Wahab Riaz, who was part of the men’s team selection committee, will no longer serve in their roles. The board emphasized that additional details regarding the new composition of the selection committee will be revealed shortly.
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The current selection committee still includes prominent figures like Mohammad Yousuf, Asad Shafiq, and Bilal Afzal, who serves as the team’s data analyst, alongside the head coaches and captains of various formats.
PCB chief Mohsin Naqvi expressed disappointment over Pakistan’s performance, suggesting that significant changes are necessary within the national team structure. He indicated a need for extensive evaluation and possibly looking beyond the current player pool to improve performance in future tournaments.
Naqvi stated, “I thought the team required minor surgery to start winning matches but now it appears that we have to go for major surgery. It is very disappointing the way we lost to the USA and now this loss to India. We need to now start looking at players beyond those in the team right now.”
He emphasized the urgent need to address the team’s performance issues and pledged a thorough review process to identify necessary changes moving forward.