PCB Divests Shan Masood and Jason Gillespie of Selection Powers

Pakistan Cricket boat has once again decided to tinker with the powers afforded to Test captain Shan Masood and head coach Jason Gillespie in another blow to the national side. 

According to sources, the two will no longer have the final say in the team selection process or even deciding the final playing eleven after PCB’s newly revamped selection committee decided to reduce their authority. 

“The playing eleven for the second Test against England was finalised after consulting Shan and Gillespie, but unlike before the first Test, they no longer have the ultimate decision-making power in team selection,” the source explained.

The changes in authority are believed to have followed a meeting between PCB’s Chairman Mohsin Naqvi and the new selectors, along with mentors of domestic teams, on Saturday. The meeting reportedly included Aaqib Javed, Azhar Ali, Aleem Dar, Hasan Cheema, and advisor Bilal Afzal. Domestic cricket director Abdullah Khurram Niazi and high-performance director Nadeem Khan were also present, with mentors Shoaib Malik, Misbah-ul-Haq, Waqar Younis, and Saqlain Mushtaq attending in person. Sarfaraz Ahmed and former selector Asad Shafiq participated via video link.

PCB had appointed Masood and Gillespie as voting members of the national selection committee, alongside white-ball head coach Gary Kirsten, back in August to bring more structure to the team selection process but a string of poor results in each format seems to have changed their minds. 

Their removal means Naqvi will now rely on Aaqib Javed, Aleem Dar, Azhar Ali, analyst Hasan Cheema, and the longstanding member Asad Shafiq to decide the best playing side for the national team. The panel’s first set of moves was to drop key players Babar Azam, Shaheen Shah Afridi, and Naseem Shah for the remaining two Tests against England despite both Shan Masood and Jason Gillespie calling for more continuity than a knee-jerk reaction.  

Pakistan’s next test assignment after England will be against South Africa in December 2024.