PCB says national selection committee remains intact

LAHORE: The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) on Wednesday confirmed that there will be no changes in the national selection committee, describing it as ‘intact’.

The PCB spokesman in an official statement said that the board has only replaced the data analyst, who will have no voting right during team selection. According to the PCB, Hassan Cheema has been replaced by Usman Hashmi as the data analyst to assist the selection committee.

The selection committee comprises Aqib Javed, Aleem Dar, Asad Shafiq, and Azhar Ali. It may be noted here that the selection committee operates without a designated head, with all four members holding equal decision-making power.

The spokesman said the selection committee is bound to discuss with head coach and captain of respected formats before finalising the team.

The PCB made its announcement in response to recent media reports that indicated a a major overhaul of the selection committee, which suggested the potential removal of former Test cricketers Azhar Ali and Asad Shafiq.

The reports had indicated their possible replacement with former captain Sarfaraz Ahmed and cricket analyst Sikandar Bakht.