Pakistan Reorganises Selection Committee Ahead Of T20 World Cup 2024

Pakistan announced changes to its cricket selection committee on Sunday, an effort to improve results ahead of this year's Twenty20 World Cup, including making the captain and head coach part of the process.

The seven-member committee was announced by newly elected Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman Mohsin Naqvi in a press conference in Lahore.

"We have reorganised the selection committee with seven members but the different thing is that there will be no chairman," Naqvi said, adding that each member would have "equal powers".

"We hope to get better results with our team" following the changes, he said.

Former captain Mohammad Yousuf, Wahab Riaz, Abdul Razzaq and Asad Shafiq -- who all played for Pakistan -- will be joined on the committee by the current captain, the head coach and a data analyst.

The committee will soon announce probables for a two-week training camp to be held at army base Kakul starting from Monday, Naqvi said.

Pakistan are without a head coach following their disastrous World Cup (50 overs) in India last year where they failed to qualify for the semi-finals.

Afterwards Babar Azam stepped down from captaincy of all formats and was replaced by Shan Masood as Test captain and Shaheen Shah Afridi as T20I captain.

The then-head coach Mickey Arthur was replaced by a team director Mohammad Hafeez under whom Pakistan suffered a 3-0 Test whitewash in Australia and 4-1 series defeat in a T20I series in New Zealand.

Naqvi on Sunday left open whether Shaheen will be retained as captain, saying the selection committee will make a final decision on its T20I captain after the training camp.

The chairman also announced the restoration of a central contract for fast bowler Haris Rauf, who was suspended last month after he refused to play Tests in Australia.

"Rauf has stated that there was some misunderstanding so we have restored his central contract," said Naqvi.

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Pakistan will play five T20Is against New Zealand at home followed by two in Ireland and four in England before featuring in the World Cup in the United States and the West Indies.