The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) ousted ex-cricketer Salman Butt from the selection committee, revealed chief selector Wahab Riaz during a press conference on Saturday.
Salman Butt’s inclusion as a consultant member was confirmed by the PCB, but severe criticism prompted a reversal of the decision.
Wahab clarified that he personally made the call to include Butt and has now decided to remove him.
“I solely made the choice to retract Salman Butt’s appointment.”
“Salman Butt has served his time, it’s time to move forward. Some are running personal agendas against both of us, and a few media outlets are involved. There were accusations of nepotism against me,” Wahab stated.
“I faced backlash for appointing Salman Butt, accused of favoring friendships. To avoid this, I revoked my decision,” he emphasized.
Wahab highlighted instances from Indian cricket, citing Mohammad Azharuddin and Ajay Jadeja, who have taken roles without controversy.
“Azharuddin leads a cricket association in India and Jadeja worked as Afghanistan’s batting consultant without issues.”
Asad Shafiq joins the selection committee, set to assist the team during the New Zealand T20I series as his initial role.
Shafiq’s delayed arrival on the committee is due to his participation in the Sindh Premier League (SPL) scheduled for this month.
Following Pakistan’s disappointing performance in the 2023 World Cup, the PCB swiftly moved to implement significant management and team structure changes.
Babar Azam relinquished captaincy across formats after discussions with PCB Management Committee Chairman Zaka Ashraf, ultimately retaining Test captaincy.
New captains were named for Test and T20I cricket, with Shan Masood and Shaheen Afridi taking charge, respectively.
The PCB appointed Mohammad Hafeez as the team’s director, while Wahab Riaz assumed the chief selector role.
Sohail Tanveer was named head of the junior selection committee, and Mohammad Yousuf took over coaching Pakistan’s U19 team in subsequent appointments.