Wahab Riaz has been officially appointed as the Chief Selector of the Pakistan Cricket Team, as per the announcement made by the Pakistan Cricket Board on Friday evening.
His name was circulating on social media for the role. He has replaced former cricketer Inzamam-ul-Haq who resigned after being accused of conflict of interest.
Netizens, however, are surprised over his selection as he is already the interim sports minister of Punjab. Meanwhile, he will also be playing league cricket, PSL from the franchise Peshawar Zalmi. Cricket fans are amused by the diverse roles taken on by Wahab Riaz. They, however, have expressed confidence in him.
Earlier, former Pakistan cricketers Younis Khan, Mohammad Hafeez, Wahab Riaz, and Sohail Tanvir met with Chairman PCB Management Committee Zaka Ashraf at Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore today. The meeting comes as Ashraf seeks a new chief selector with a deep understanding of the contemporary demands of cricket.
The new selection committee will deliberate on the Test squad composition from November 20 to 24. Simultaneously, a training camp will be established, inviting players who have excelled in domestic cricket.
After the Australian Test tour, Pakistan is scheduled to play 19 T20Is leading up to the T20 World Cup in June in the West Indies and the USA.
Read more: Wahab Riaz top contender for Chief Selector role
Pakistan’s only T20 World Cup victory in 2009 was under the leadership of Younis Khan, while Mohammad Hafeez boasts a commendable captaincy record in T20 cricket.
In other news, Babar Azam has resigned from captaincy. Meanwhile, Shan Masood has replaced him as Test captain and Shaheen Shah Afridi has replaced him as the T20 captain.
Shan Masood has been declared the captain for two years till the end of the World Test Championship. He has the tough challenge of leading Pakistan in Australia in the Test match series scheduled in December next month.