Pakistan cricket board appoints Shahid Afridi chief selector for New Zealand series

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has named former captain Shahid Afridi as interim chief selector of the men’s team for the home series against New Zealand and ex-internationals Abdul Razzaq and Rao Iftikhar as members of the selection panel.

Najam Sethi, new chairman of the PCB’s management committee, dissolved the previous committee that was headed by Mohammad Wasim.

Sethi fired Ramiz Raja as PCB chairman on Thursday after the government appointed a management committee to form a new governing board within four months.

Former Test player Haroon Rasheed, one of 14 members in the new interim management committee, was named as convenor of the selection committee.

Wasim, a former Pakistan middle-order batter, was appointed in 2020 and was expected to stay until next year’s 50-over World Cup in India.

Sethi welcomed Afridi as head of the selection panel and hoped the committee "will make brave and bold decisions that will help us produce a strong and competitive side in the series against New Zealand.”

Pakistan has already announced a 16-strong squad for the two-Test series against New Zealand that starts on Monday and it was not clear whether the new selection committee will now make changes.

"I feel honoured to have been assigned this responsibility," said Afridi, who retired from international cricket in 2017. "We need to get back to winning ways,” Afridi said in a statement. "I have no doubts that through meritocratic and strategic selection decisions we will help the national side to perform strongly in the series against New Zealand and reclaim the confidence of our fans.”

Flamboyant Afridi scored 11,196 runs and took 541 wickets with his leg-spin bowling in his 27 Test matches, 398 ODIs and 99 Twenty20s. He also captained the team in 83 international games. He was a member of the team, which won the 2009 T20 World Cup in England.

"I feel honoured to have been assigned this responsibility," said Afridi, who retired from international cricket in 2017.

New Zealand will be playing its first international games in Pakistan since 2003 when it last toured the country for a limited-overs series.

Pakistan suffered a 3-0 clean sweep against England last week, its first whitewash at home in a series featuring three or more test matches.