New Delhi: The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has resorted to sending a national selector each for the team’s upcoming white-ball tours of Australia and Zimbabwe and he will have the final say in all the team matters regarding the selection. The PCB has decided to send Asa Shafique to Australia while former captain Azhar Ali will head to Zimbabwe with the team.
Like most of the teams in international cricket, the PCB had a policy where the national selectors picked the touring squad, and the playing XI for each clash was finalised during the tours by the skipper, head coach, and the vice-captain. However, this was changed recently, when England handed a crushing defeat to Pakistan in the first Multan Test this month.
Therefore the PCB changed its policy and revamped the selection committee, roping in Aaqib Javed, Azhar Ali, and Aleem Dar as the new selectors, who joined Hasan Cheema and Asad Shafique in the panel. It was also announced that this five-member selection committee possesses complete powers to not only pick the touring squad but also decide the playing XI for each game, with the skipper and the head coach, no longer part of the committee, and the selectors aren’t bound to consult them.
“That is why the board will send Asad to Australia so that he will be with the team for all the matches and will have the final say in selection matters after consulting his fellow selectors in Pakistan,” PTI quoted a source as saying, who also added that Azhar Ali will do a similar job in Zimbabwe.
Kirsten resigns, more drama in PCB
The selectors had recently announced their ODI and T20I squads for the Australia and Zimbabwe tours where Pakistan will play three ODIs and T20Is each from November 4. However, the selectors didn’t name any skipper, leaving it to the PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi to make the announcement. Mohammed Rizwan was named as the new skipper of Pakistan’s white-ball teams after which head coach Gary Kirsten handed his resignation to the PCB.
He was reportedly not happy with PCB snatching powers from him in the selection matters and even the decision of making Rizwan the new skipper, which reportedly happened without consulting him. He has since been replaced on interim basis by Pakistan’s Test head coach Jason Gillespie.
