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The shakeup in Pakistani cricket following the side's humiliating exit from the 2024 T20 World Cup began when selectors Wahab Riaz and Abdul Razzaq were sacked from their roles. The Pakistan selection committee comprises five members, three of them being the captain, head coach, and PCB chairman alongside former players Mohammed Yousuf and Asad Shafiq.
Former pacer Wahab Riaz was appointed as chief selector in November 2023, but saw his role change after an internal shakeup in the selection committee. The revamped model saw seven members in the panel have equal say in matters, without a particular leader in the group.
Inconsistency in Pakistan cricket's structure is quite well-documented. Change is the only constant for the Men in Green, whether it be captains, coaches, selectors, or chairman.
No chief selector has had a long enough reign to bring about a change in recent times. On that note, let us take a look at the chief selectors who have held office in Pakistani cricket over the last five years.
#1 Misbah-ul-Haq
The former captain simultaneously held the post of head coach and chief selector in 2019. His reign was far from being memorable as Pakistan returned mediocre results, including series losses to Sri Lanka and Australia.
Misbah resigned from the post in September 2020 after being unable to focus on both high-priority roles.
#2 Mohammad Wasim
Mohammad Wasim's reign as chief selector lasted two years from 2020 to 2022, and is the only phase in recent times where Pakistan had some sort of stability. During the former batter's tenure, Pakistan made it to the semi-finals and the finals of the 2021 T20 World Cup and the 2022 T20 World Cup, respectively.
However, his stint came to an abrupt end after the appointment of Najam Sethi as interim PCB chairman. All committees forged as part of the 2019 constitution were disbanded, and the 2014 version was reinstated instead. As per his contract, Wasim was slated to remain as chief selector until the 2023 ODI World Cup.
#3 Shahid Afridi
Former Pakistan skipper Shahid Afridi came on board as interim chief selector in Najam Sethi's reign. He was in charge of selecting the team for the home series against New Zealand. The interim PCB chairman had offered Afridi the chance to hold the role permanently, but he declined the offer as he wished to work more on his charity and foundation.
#4 Haroon Rasheed
Former Pakistan batter Haroon Rasheed took over from Shahid Afridi in early 2023. He had held several roles within Pakistan cricket in the past, including the chief selector, team manager, and director of cricket operations. He had to resign from his role in management to avoid a potential conflict of interest.
However, his tenure came to an early end as team director Mickey Arthur wished for total authority on team selections and other matters, and wished for a new selection committee altogether.
#5 Inzamam-ul-Haq
The legendary batter was appointed as chief selector for a second term in August 2023. He had first served in the role from 2016 to 2019, a phase where Pakistan won the Champions Trophy and tasted a lot of red-ball success as well.
Having selected the squad for the 2019 ODI World Cup, Inzamam was tasked with selecting the team for the 2023 edition as well. However, the team failed to make it to the semi-finals on both occasions.
He resigned midway through the World Cup due to some serious conflict of interest allegations against him. The former batter was an active director of a UK-based firm named Yazoo International Ltd.
One of the members of the board of directors was Talha Rehmani, who was the managing director of Saya Corporation. The firm represented an array of Pakistan's top-profile players including Babar Azam, Shaheen Afridi, and Mohammad Rizwan.
#6 Wahab Riaz
As mentioned earlier, the former pacer was appointed as chief selector after a brief spell as Punjab sports minister. His appointment was part of the shake-up post the 2023 ODI World Cup, which saw Babar Azam stepping down as ODI captain and the subsequent appointments of
Riaz worked closely with Mohammed Hafeez during Pakistan's challenging tours of Australia and New Zealand. Riaz's tenure witnessed early controversy after he stated that Haris Rauf did not wish to be included in the red-ball squad. The speedster on the other hand refused such claims and even considered retiring from international cricket due to this incident.
The 2024 T20 World Cup debacle proved to be the last straw as he received flak for the selection of Azam Khan and several others, including the retired duo of Mohammed Amir and Imad Wasim.
