Pakistan appoint Wahab Riaz as supervisor for Champions Trophy 2025

Pakistan will be hosting an ICC event for the first time since 1997. The country is gearing to be the centre stage as the world will converge for the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 scheduled to held in February. Ahead of the tournament the stadiums across the country were renovated and special importance is given to the security. Moreover, the ICC is yet to unveil the schedule for the marquee event.

In the latest development, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has appointed former Pakistan pacer, Wahab Riaz as a supervisor for the upcoming ICC Champions Trophy. He will also act as the mentor for the Pakistan cricket team in the upcoming tournament. It is worth noting that Riaz was also the team manager before there was a management shift in the PCB and team.

The 39-year-old was also the Chief Selector ahead of the ODI World Cup 2023 where Pakistan were ousted from the group stages. The team further sunk as they dealt a same result in the T20 World Cup the following year and this called for Riaz’s removal from the chief selector’s position. Now the sword lies on the head of Mohammad Yousuf, who was serving as batting coach at the National Cricket Academy (NCA). His potential axing from the position is also one of the ongoing talks within PCB.

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It is worth noting that, Riaz made his international debut against Zimbabwe in February 2008. He went onto represent the country in 27 Tests, 91 ODIs and 36 T20Is. The right-arm pacer claimed 83 wickets in Tests, 120 in ODIs, and 34 in T20Is before he hung his boots on August 16, 2023, serving Pakistan for over a decade. His spell against former Australia batter, Shane Watson during the 2015 ODI World Cup is revered as one of his most memorable outings with the ball for the Men in Green.