Salman Butt removed as consultant to Pakistan chief selector

LAHORE: The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) on Saturday removed former captain Salman Butt as consultant member to chief selector Wahab Riaz following a massive backlash, ARY News reported.

Along with Kamran Akmal and Iftikhar Anjum, the former captain was appointed as the consultant to chief selector by the PCB, with their role to begin ahead of the five-match T20I series against New Zealand in January.

This was Butt’s official role with any side since going to prison for 30 months in 2011 for his involvement in the spot-fixing saga. The 39-year-old also copped a 10-year ban from the International Cricket Council (ICC).

However, the appointment faced a backlash from former cricketers – who believed the decision “would reflect badly on Pakistan cricket and could have wider implications”.

“Salman Butt’s appointment as consultant was under consideration. Now we have decided after thinking about this, that we are not appointing him,” Pakistan chief selector Wahab Riaz said while addressing a press conference today.

Wahab Riaz’s press conference at GSL. https://t.co/qx4qDbDaYj

— Pakistan Cricket (@TheRealPCB) December 2, 2023

Riaz told reporters that people were talking all sorts of stuff about him and Salman Butt. “Therefore, I am reverting the decision and I have told him [Butt] that he cannot be part of the selection team,” he added.

He went on to say that Butt was not on any PCB panel, adding that he is a good cricketing mind who understands cricket and has been covering domestic cricket for the past two to three years. “He was made my consultant only as far as taking his opinion is concerned,” Riaz noted.

The chief selector clarified that appointing Butt was solely his decision, but he was revoking it due to “propaganda”. “There is no pressure on me. I had made a decision and I am revoking it,” he added.

The appointments came as part of a series of change across the team’s management structure, which started with the removal of Babar Azam as captain and also saw Mohammad Hafeez and Wahab Riaz assume coaching duties and chief selector’s position, respectively.

After Babar’s resignation, the PCB named new captains for Test and T20I cricket with Shan Masood and Shaheen Afridi taking the realm of respective formats.

Meanwhile, former pacer Sohail Tanveer was named the head of the junior selection committee, while legendary batter Mohammad Yousuf was given the responsibility of coaching Pakistan’s U19 team.