The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), on December 1, 2023, announced the appointment of three former Pakistan players as consultants to newly appointed chief selector Wahab Riaz.
Kamran Akmal, Rao Iftikhar Anjum, and Salman Butt will be aiding Wahab Riaz in picking the Pakistan team going forward and have assumed their responsibilities in the selection panel with immediate effect.
Their first assignment as consultant members to the chief selector includes the upcoming five-match T20I series against New Zealand, set to commence on 12 January 2024 following the conclusion of the Test tour to Australia.
While Kamran Akmal and Iftikhar Rao’s selection seemed to go well with the Pakistan team fans, the choice of Salman Butt has proven to be a non-popular one. Butt represented Pakistan in 33 Tests, 78 ODIs and 24 T20Is. He made 5,209 runs spanning the three formats with 11 international centuries.
However, infamously, he was Pakistan's captain when the spot-fixing scandal happened during a Pakistan v Australia Test at Lord’s in 2010. Butt, along with pacers Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Amir was found guilty of spot-fixing and received jail sentences, and were banned from cricket.
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Only Mohammad Amir managed to play for Pakistan again, while Butt tried to make a comeback by playing domestic cricket, but never wore the Pakistan green color again.
And his selection as a consultant to chief selector Wahab Riaz has not been well received by Pakistan team fans, who slammed the PCB and Butt on social media.
Here are some reactions:
