Wahab Riaz, a former fast bowler, has been named the Pakistan senior men's team's new chief selector. His hiring comes not long after Inzamam-Ul-Haq resigned from the role after conflict-of-interest claims and major changes in the set-up following a disappointing ODI World Cup campaign.
Wahab, who made his international debut in 2008, represented Pakistan in 27 Tests, 91 ODIs, and 36 T20Is picking up 237 wickets and scoring 1200 runs across the three formats. He was Pakistan’s second-most successful bowler in World Cups, registering 35 wickets across three editions of the marquee event.
Wahab Riaz said on PCB website: “I am honored to assume the role of chairperson for the national men's selection committee and I extend my gratitude to the Chairman PCB Management Committee, Mr Zaka Ashraf, for entrusting me with this responsibility. The decision to involve former players in cricketing matters is commendable and I am willing to work for the betterment of Pakistan cricket.
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Heading a selection committee is a challenging task. 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.”
His first task will be to choose the national men's squad for the three-match Test series against Australia, which will take place from 14 December to 7 January in Australia, and the five-match T20I series against New Zealand, which will take place from 12 to 21 January in New Zealand.
He will closely work with new Test captain Shan Masood and T20I captain Shaheen Afridi.
Though he hasn't formally retired from franchise cricket, his PSL team, Peshawar Zalmi, thanked Wahab for his "exceptional services to the team" in a tweet on Friday.
The other members of the selection panel have not been named yet.
