PCB chairman Zaka Ashraf met with Mohd Hafeez, Younis Khan and Sohail Tanveer, hinting at a possible role in the new selection committee.
Former Pakistan captain Mohammad Hafeez & Younis Khan are frontrunners to be on the selection committee. The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) invited both former stars apart from Wahab Riaz and Sohail Tanvir after firing the entire selection committee following a disappointing Cricket World Cup campaign. Inzamam Ul Haq stepped down after facing allegations of conflict of interest. PCB appointed former Test cricketer Tauseef Ahmed for in an interim role but now, it has decided to fire the entire committee. The fate of captain Babar Azam also hangs in balance as PCB chief Zaka Ashraf is set to meet him this week.
As per Cricket Pakistan, either of Younis Khan or Mohammad Hafeez will take over as the new chairman of the selection committee. As Pakistan Cricket rebuilds for two important tours to Australia and New Zealand and then focus on T20 World Cup 2024, they do not have any time to waste.
The incoming selection committee’s first job will be to select the squad for the Australia tour. But more than that, they have to address the elephant in the room: Babar Azam’s captaincy. Even though Babar Azam is deliberating whether he should stay on, the chief selector will have a big say.
The new selection committee will meet between Nov 20-24 to pick the squad. And the squad will be in a preparatory camp following that.
Both Younis Khan and Mohammad Hafeez are acclaimed cricketers, known for their leadership qualities. Under Younis Khan’s captaincy, Pakistan won the 2009 T20 World Cup. Hafeez also has a great record in leading in T20.
Whoever gets the job will have an important role to play in rebuilding the team.
Meanwhile, Zaka Ashraf will meet Babar Azam on Wednesday. This is the first time that the two will meet since the Cricket World Cup exit. AMid rumours of Babar Azam stepping down from one captaincy role at least, all eyes will be on the meeting and the outcomes.
