PCB introduces new national team selection committee

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has announced the formation of a new selection committee.

The committee includes renowned former cricketers Mohammad Yousuf and Asad Shafiq, and esteemed coaches Jason Gillespie and Gary Kirsten.

Captains Shan Masood and Babar Azam, leading the men's white-ball and red-ball teams, respectively, will also play integral roles in the selection committee.

The newly formed committee's first task will be to select the squad for the upcoming two-match Test series against Bangladesh, scheduled to be hosted in Pakistan next month.

Players invited to the training camp will undergo rigorous fitness assessments before final selections are made.

Notably, Bilal Afzal will not be part of the new selection committee, instead, he will be assigned a new role within the PCB. Data analyst Hassan Cheema and Director International cricket Usman Wahla are also excluded from the selection committee.

It is worth noting that former cricketers Wahab Riaz and Abdul Razzaq were recently removed from Pakistan's selection committee.

The decision follows Pakistan's disappointing performance in the recently concluded ICC T20 World Cup 2024, where the team failed to progress beyond the group stage.

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) on Wednesday morning confirmed the development in an official statement, saying “It has notified Abdul Razzaq and Wahab Riaz that their services will no longer be required in the national selection committee setup.”