Pakistan Cricket Board, on Friday, November 17 announced the appointment of the former fast bowler Wahab Riaz as the new chief selector of the national men's selection committee.

Riaz's appointment comes a few days after Inzamam-ul-Haq stepped down from the position amid conflict-of-interest allegations and as a successive step after the team's disappointing campaign at the ODI World Cup 2023 in India.

The 38-year-old had announced his retirement from international cricket only recently in August but was open to being in action in franchise cricket around the globe.

He represented the Pakistan team in 27 Tests, 91 ODIs, and 36 T20Is before making his final appearance for the national side in December 2020.

 

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

Wahab's first assignment as the Pakistan team's chief selector will be the team's upcoming tour of Australia in which they will be playing three Tests. That series will be followed by a five-match T20I series in New Zealand.

The PCB recently announced the appointment of former allrounder Mohammad Hafeez as the team's new director as Wahab mentioned his excitement to be working with his former teammate in order to find forthcoming success for the Pakistan team.

"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 said.

"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 skillsets. I will always be available to the players for feedback and advice."

There has been so much going on within Pakistan cricket since they headed to India to participate in the marquee tournament.

While they didn't finish as per expectations, the team witnessed a few tough setbacks with the resignation of bowling coach Morne Morkel and Babar Azam also stepping down as the captain of the side from all formats.

 

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Post Babar's resignation after heavy criticism, Shaheen Aafridi was appointed as the T20I captain whereas Shan Masood will be leading the Test side. They haven't named a skipper for the ODI team as the team has no recent matches to play in that particular format.

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Pakistan failed to make it to the semi-finals and finished in the fifth position in the standings with four wins and eight points under their belt.


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