Former batsman Mohammad Wasim takes over as Pakistan men’s team new chief selector

Former Pakistan batsman Mohammad Wasim has been appointed as the new chairman of the national team’s selection committee; the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) announced on Saturday. Wasim, the 42-year-old former Test batsman, replaces Misbah-ul-Haq, the incumbent coach of the Pakistan men’s team. Misbah had been doubling up as the men’s team head coach cum chief selector until this October. But the former Pakistan captain decided to relinquish the latter role to concentrate on his coaching duties.

His last official selection assignment was choosing the Pakistan seniormen’s and the Pakistani A team for the ongoing New Zealand tour. Misbah officially resigned as chief selector on November 30.

Mohammad Wasim takes office till the 2023 World Cup

Wasim, meanwhile, has been appointed to his new post until the 2023 World Cup in India. His appointment was approved by PCB chairman Ehsan Mani through interviews on Thursday and Friday.

Wasim played as middle-order batter in the Pakistan red-ball team from 1996 to 2000. He has two test hundreds to his name. The latter half of 2000-10 decade saw Wasim shift bases to New Zealand and Netherlands, where he was involved in some minor cricketing roles.

Interestingly, he was appointed as the Sweden Cricket team’s head coach in 2018. He even mentored them through the 2018-19 ICC World T20 Europe qualifier. Until more recently, though,Wasim head coached the Northern Cricket Association (NCA) in Pakistan’s domestic Qaid-e-Azam trophy, but will now have to resign from that post. Wasim’s tenure as the new chief selector starts from next month with the home series against South Africa.

In his official statement to the PCB, Wasim conveyed that he will focus his decisions around meritocracy and long-term ambitions.

“Focus on performance and long-term view”

“This is a performance-oriented world and, as such, my philosophy will be to promote meritocracy and select squads according to home and international conditions and requirements. As a chief selector, I will always be willing to make the hard calls, if these are in the best interest of Pakistan cricket”, Wasim was quoted as saying by News18.

“We have a busy 2021 year ahead and I will focus on being positive on selections that not only address our short-term needs but also fulfil our long-term ambition”

Pakistan’s busy 2021 starts with the aforementioned home series against South Africa, comprising of two Tests and three T20I matches. They will also play matches at home against New Zealand, West Indies, and England. Currently, they are in New Zealand competing in a 3-match T20I series.