The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) swiftly reversed its decision to appoint former cricketer Salman Butt as a “consultant member” to chief selector Wahab Riaz within 24 hours of the announcement. The move had garnered severe criticism from the cricketing community and fans.
Wahab Riaz, addressing the media at Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore, acknowledged the public backlash and stated, “People were talking all sorts of stuff about me and Salman Butt. Therefore, I am reverting the decision, and I have already spoken to Salman Butt and told him that he cannot be part of my team.” Riaz emphasized that the decision to appoint Butt was solely his own but was being revoked due to the negative publicity and “propaganda.”
The PCB had initially named Salman Butt, along with Kamran Akmal and Rao Iftikhar Anjum, as members of the selection committee led by Wahab Riaz. However, social media users and former cricketer Sarfraz Nawaz expressed dissatisfaction with the appointment, citing Butt’s involvement in the 2010 spot-fixing scandal, for which he had been banned and sentenced to prison.
Wahab Riaz defended the selection by pointing to examples from Indian cricket, where players like Mohammad Azharuddin and Ajay Jadeja have taken on various roles without controversy. He mentioned that he had the autonomy to choose his team members but decided to reverse the decision in response to the criticism.
In a parallel development, Test batter Asad Shafiq was confirmed to join the selection committee, assisting the team during the New Zealand T20I series as his initial assignment.
The changes in the PCB’s management and team structure followed Pakistan’s unsatisfactory performance in the 2023 World Cup. The restructuring began on November 15, with Babar Azam stepping down as captain, leading to new appointments for Test and T20I cricket, including Shan Masood and Shaheen Afridi. Mohammad Hafeez was appointed as the team’s director, while Wahab Riaz assumed the role of chief selector. Other appointments included Sohail Tanveer as the head of the junior selection committee and Mohammad Yousuf as the coach of Pakistan’s U19 team.
