Wahab Riaz appointed director for PCB's Champions tournament

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has appointed former pacer Wahab Riaz as the Director of its flagship domestic cricket tournaments, marking his return to an influential role in Pakistan cricket administration.

Wahab will oversee the Champions tournaments, including the Champions One-Day Cup, Champions T20 Cup, and Champions First-Class Cup. These tournaments were introduced by the PCB earlier this year as part of its domestic cricket overhaul aimed at fostering competitive cricket and identifying emerging talent.

The appointment comes months after Wahab's tumultuous departure from two critical roles within the PCB. He previously served as a member of the national men’s selection committee and as team manager during Pakistan's campaign in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024. However, following the national team's disappointing performance, Wahab, along with Mansoor Rana, was sacked from his position.

At the time, reports cited issues with maintaining discipline within the team as a key reason for their removal. Wahab later addressed the situation in a statement, defending his tenure and refusing to engage in a blame game.

"My time serving as a member of selection committee for PCB comes to an end, I just want my people to know that I have served the game I love with faith and sincerity and have given 100 percent for the betterment of Pakistan cricket.

He emphasized the collaborative nature of the selection process during his tenure: "It has been an honour to serve as part of the selection panel. To make collaborative decisions as part of the seven-man panel to select the national team was a privilege - everyone's vote carried equal weight, we made selection decisions as a team & shared the responsibility of that process equally."

Wahab's new role as Director of the Champions tournaments presents an opportunity for the former left-arm pacer to contribute to Pakistan cricket in a capacity that focuses on domestic development and talent nurturing.