The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has made significant changes to its selection committee following a crushing home defeat to England. England defeated Pakistan by an innings margin despite the latter scoring over 500 runs in the first innings. Soon after, the PCB announced the addition of Aleem Dar, Aaqib Javed and Azhar Ali as new members of the committee. They join Asad Shafiq, analyst Hassan Cheema and the team’s captain and coach, who were already part of the selection jury.

This expanded group now consists of seven voting members who are responsible for selection decisions. In addition, there are four non-voting members: Azhar Mahmood (Assistant Coach), Bilal Afzal (Advisor to PCB Chairman), Nadeem Khan (Director of High Performance) and Usman Wahla (Director of International Cricket).

The overhaul comes just days after Mohammad Yousuf resigned from the selection panel. No chair of the committee has yet been appointed, meaning 26 people have held the position as of August 2021.

Selection team for the second test

The PCB’s announcement came in the wake of Pakistan’s defeat by an innings and 47 runs in the first Test against England as they became the first team to lose by an innings after scoring over 550 in their first innings. It was the team’s third consecutive home loss and seventh loss in their last nine home games. Pakistan’s poor performance has left Pakistan bottom of the World Test Championship (WTC) points table with just 16 points from eight matches.

The newly appointed committee faces the immediate task of selecting the squad for the second Test in Multan, scheduled to begin next Tuesday.

Earlier this year, the PCB had already restructured the selection panel under its chairman Mohsin Naqvi, but the changes continued after Pakistan’s early exit from the T20 World Cup in June. Electors Wahab Riaz and Abdul Razzaq were removed from their positions at this time and no immediate successors were announced. After Yousuf’s departure last month, Shafiq was the only voting member apart from the captains and coaches.

Aleem Dar’s appointment as selector came as a surprise as it is unusual for referees to take on this role. Despite retiring from the ICC’s elite panel of referees last year, Dar has continued to officiate domestic and international matches and recently announced that this season would be his last as a professional umpire.