Afridi named interim chief selector

LAHORE: Former Pakistan captain Shahid Afridi was on Saturday appointed as the interim chairman of men’s national selection committee.

The Pakistan Cricket Board also included Afridi’s former teammate Abdul Razzaq and Rao Iftikhar Anjum as members in the selection committee.

Afridi will lead the four-member panel while Haroon Rashid will be the convener. For now, the appointment is only for the upcoming home series against New Zealand, starting with the first Test in Karachi from December 26.

The committee has been tasked with reviewing the Test squad that was announced by the previous panel, which was led by Mohammad Wasim, who was sacked on Friday.

“PCB Management Committee has appointed former Pakistan captain Shahid Afridi as the interim Chair of the Men's National Selection Committee. Other members of the panel are: Abdul Razzaq and Rao Iftikhar Anjum. Haroon Rashid will be the Convener,” Pakistan cricket said in a tweet.

Afridi's appointment came after the earlier Pakistan chief selector Wasim's contract was terminated by the new PCB management committee, which is led by Najam Sethi. All committees established by the now-defunct 2019 constitution have also been dismantled.

On the appointment, Afridi said: “I feel honoured to have been assigned this responsibility by the PCB Management Committee and will no stone unturned in fulfilling this responsibility to the best of my abilities.”

“We need to get back to our winning ways and I have no doubts that through meritocratic and strategic selection decisions, we will help the national side to perform strongly in the series against New Zealand and reclaim the confidence of our fans. I will soon convene a meeting of the selectors and will share my plans with reference to the upcoming matches,” he added. The new chairman made this choice as his first action after taking over on Thursday.