Hafeez, Wahab feature in PCB’s latest overhaul

Pakistan Cricket Board's (PCB) major shake-up following their World Cup debacle has seen former fast bowler Wahab Riaz being roped in as chief selector, the PCB confirmed yesterday.

Wahab's appointment comes after Inzamam-ul-Haq stepped down amidst allegations of having a conflict of interest in his role.

After winning their first two games in the World Cup, Pakistan lost five of their next seven matches, including a seven-wicket drubbing at the hands of archrivals India, and finished fifth in the table with eight points as they failed to cement a semifinal spot.

ODI skipper Babar Azam, who also led the Test and T20I side, blew hot and cold managing 320 runs in the nine matches at an average of 40.

It is natural that a team would opt for an upheaval after a disappointing World Cup campaign and the PCB seems to be in no mood to waste time.

Significant changes have been in order as Babar stepped down from captaincy in all formats last Wednesday. Former Pakistan all-rounder Mohammad Hafeez was also appointed as the national team's director on the same day.

It was later announced that Hafeez, who replaced Micky Authur as director, would also assume the role of head coach for the upcoming tours in Australia (from December 14 to January 7) and New Zealand (from January 12 to 21) respectively as part of PCB's aim to merge the role of team director and head coach.

Meanwhile, the PCB announced that left-handed batter Shan Masood will lead the Test side, while star pacer Shaheen Shah Afridi will take the reins of the T20I team. The PCB is yet to make an announcement on the ODI captain.

The foreign coaching panel consisting of bowling coach Morne Morkel, and head coach Grant Bradburn have also resigned.

Pakistan cricket is never far away from the next controversy and moving from one crisis onto another has been a common theme in management as well.

Amidst the latest overhaul, former Pakistan cricketer Rashid Latif went onto provide a year-by-year breakup of Pakistan's performance in big tournaments, and this included several controversies involving the national team, including the revolt against former batter Younus Khan, who had revealed a couple of years back that seniors in the team then were unhappy with his captaincy style and strong attitude.

Latif also went onto mention the 2010 spot-fixing scandal in England, for which the trio of Salman Butt, Mohammad Amir and Mohammad Asif were arrested and banned, and the sacking of several captains and PCB chiefs over the years.