The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) have confirmed that they have notified Abdul Razzaq and Wahab Riaz that their services “will no longer be required in the national selection committee set up”.

Abdul Razzaq was a part of the men’s and women’s selection committee, while Wahab was a selector of the men’s team.

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The statement from PCB comes after Pakistan’s early departure from the recently concluded ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024 where they exited after the Group Stage, including losses against USA and India.

The duo’s sacking from the selection panel could be seen as part of the “major surgery” that the PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi had promised after the team’s losses to USA and India in the group stages of the recently-held ICC T20 World Cup.

“I thought the team required minor surgery to start winning matches but now it appears that we have to go for major surgery,” Naqvi had said.

Pakistan has further confirmed the restructuring of the selection committee with details on its composition to be soon announced. Accordingly a chief selector is expected to be reappointed and the numerical strength of the panel is expected to be reduced, making it unlikely that Wahab and Razzaq will be replaced to make up the numbers.

Wahab, who was considered extremely close to Naqvi, has seen his fall from grace in a matter of months, with the former also serving as a caretaker sports minister while Naqvi was appointed caretaker Chief Minister of Punjab before making their way into PCB’s administration.

Wahab had earlier served as the chief selector before being reinstated as one of the seven members of the men’s selection committee. The former fast bowler had also travelled with the Pakistan side to the T20 World Cup as senior team manager, another duty he is likely to be stripped of.

The seven-member committee was only announced less than four months ago, with Wahab demoted from chief selector, with each of the seven members carrying an equal vote. It also indicates a continuation of the instability that has plagued the selection committee over recent years.

The PCB has seen five chief selectors since January 2022, with Wahab, Haroon Rashid (twice), Shahid Afridi and Inzamam-ul-Haq all serving brief stints; Mohammad Wasim and Misbah-ul-Haq also served stints in the preceding period.

The remaining five selection committee members are the head coach and captain of the respective formats, Mohammad Yousuf, Asad Shafiq and Bilal Afzal.