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Chief selector Wahab Riaz of the PCB has three former
international cricket players as consultant members: Salman Butt, Rao Iftikhar
Anjum, and Kamran Akmal.
With immediate effect, the three will assume their
positions on the selection panel. Following the end of their Test trip to
Australia, Pakistan’s five-match Twenty20 International series against New
Zealand will begin on January 12 and mark their first assignment as consultant
members.
The PCB stated that the three could be assigned other
responsibilities, such running skill camps, when they are not doing selection
duties.
Anjum and Akmal have both previously held
selection-related duties. Before quitting all forms of cricket in February,
Akmal played for Pakistan in 53 Tests, 157 ODIs, and 58 T20Is during the course
of a 15-year career. Earlier this year, he was appointed chair of the PCB’s
Junior Selection committee. In addition, he was named chairman of an
eight-person selection committee that will choose regional and district teams
through trials for the Under-13, Under-16, and Under-19 divisions.
Anjum represented Pakistan in one Test, 62 ODIs, two
T20Is, and a three-man committee after Abdul Razzaq and Shahid Afridi were
named interim chief selectors of the men’s national squad later in the year.
Butt, the former captain, will be taking on an
official job with the PCB for the first time since he returned from a
protracted ban due to his involvement in the 2010 spot-fixing controversy. When
he was given the ban, he had captained 33 Tests, 78 ODIs, and 24 T20Is.
Following that, Butt never donned Pakistani national colours again, despite the
fact that he played first-class cricket and had an invitation from the PCB to
become a pundit in 2020.
Some people will be curious about the appointments.
Wahab and Akmal were both questioned during and after the same occurrence, but
Butt was banned and served time for his involvement in the 2010 scandal. Much
before the spot-fixing scandal of 2010, Akmal received a notice from the ICC
following the T20 World Cup, although he was later allowed to be picked by
Pakistan. After the incident at Lord’s, Akmal did not participate in another
Test match, but he was a part of Pakistan’s white-ball teams.
On November 20, the team for the three-match Test
series against Australia was selected. Following Babar Azam’s resignation from
the captaincy in all formats last month, Shan Masood will be captain of
Pakistan for the first time during this series.