PCB dissolves selection committee in lead up to T20 World Cup

With the T20 World Cup months away, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) on Sunday dissolved the men’s national selection committee.

In a statement, a spokesperson for the cricket board said a new committee would be selected soon, adding that it would take decisions based on merit and performance.

“The new selection committee’s decisions on merit will be in front of everyone to see,” the spokesperson said.

The national selection committee was headed by former fast bowler Wahab Riaz and also included Tauseef Ahmed, Wajahatullah Wasti and Wasim Haider.

Kamran Akmal and Rao Iftikhar Anjum were consultant members while Hassan Muzaffar Cheema was the manager analytics and team strategy.

Last week, PCB Chairman Mohsin Naqvi had hinted at changes to the selection committee during a press conference at the Pakistan Super League (PSL) final.

“I might be making some changes in that committee, but I believe that the selection committee should be empowered enough to be able to take these important decisions,” the chairman said.

The dissolution of the committee also comes a day after Imad Wasim took back his retirement from international cricket and said he was available for the upcoming T20 World Cup. Wasim had announced his retirement from international cricket in November last year.

It should be mentioned that Naqvi had met with Riaz at the Board’s headquarters in Lahore on Friday. During the meeting, which took place to select squads for the upcoming series against New Zealand, Riaz presented detailed reports on player performance from the recently-concluded ninth edition of PSL.

According to a PCB press release, Naqvi, also the nation’s interior minister, wished to assemble a pool of players “based on merit and performance,” including top performers from the domestic cricket extravaganza.

The ninth edition of the T20 World Cup runs from June 1-29. The expanded 20-team tournament is being jointly held by the United States and the West Indies and will get under way on June 1 at the Grand Prairie Cricket Stadium in Dallas, Texas, when the US take on Canada, both teams making their first appearances at a T20 World Cup.

A new venue 30 miles east of downtown Manhattan will host the big clash between India and Pakistan on Sunday, June 9 — one of eight games to be held at the 34,000-seat modular stadium being built in Nassau County.

A total of 16 games will be held in the United States — the first time that a major international cricket tournament is held in the country.

Lauderhill in South Florida, the most established cricket venue in the US, will host games featuring India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.

Pakistan’s build-up to the T20 World Cup commences with yet another series against New Zealand, this time at home, as they face the Kiwis for five T20I matches in Rawalpindi and Lahore from April 18.