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Shahid Afridi has reacted to the removal of Wahab Riaz and Abdul Razzaq from the selection committee by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) in their first move after the Pakistan team’s poor performance in the T20 World Cup 2024.

Notably, Pakistan had lost to the USA, becoming the first full-member team of ICC to lose to the USA in T20Is. The Men in Green then lost to India in a game that they should have won after bundling India out for 119 runs. Despite winning against Ireland and Canada, Pakistan failed to qualify for the Super 8s stage on NRR.

Wahab Riaz and Abdul Razzaq, two important members of the selection committee, were fired by the PCB. According to Afridi, in these kinds of scenarios, the captain is typically the first to go.

Riaz and Razzaq were dismissed by the PCB from the selection committee, initiating the “surgery” that chief Mohsin Naqvi had already assured.

“It has notified Abdul Razzaq and Wahab Riaz that their services will no longer be required in the national selection committee setup. The PCB will provide further updates on the selection committee’s composition in due course,” the PCB statement read.

Speaking about the ex-all-rounder’s bewilderment at Razzaq and Wahab’s expulsion from the selection committee, he called the decision a “surgery” that he finds hard to understand.

“To be honest, this kind of surgery is beyond my comprehension,” he concluded.

Notably, Wahab Riaz’s removal has raised a few eyebrows as he was supposed to be very close to Mohsin Naqvi. Riaz was also the caretaker sports minister of Punjab province, while Naqvi was the caretaker chief minister.

“Captain is the first to be dismissed” – Shahid Afridi

In response to the Pakistan Cricket Board’s (PCB) aggressive action following the national men’s team’s dismal performance in the Twenty20 World Cup 2024, former captain Shahid Afridi noted that the captain is typically the first to be removed in such circumstances.

Afridi spoke to reporters in London and said no player has ever received as many opportunities as captain as Babar Azam has.

“No captain has ever had such a clear opportunity. Usually, the captain is the first to be dismissed right after the World Cup. We’ve led the team too, like myself, Younis Khan and Misbah-ul-Haq, but Babar has had sufficient opportunities. Let’s make one decisive move and back him wholeheartedly with whatever he brings,” Afridi was quoted as saying by Cricket Pakistan.

The Men in Green don’t play limited-overs cricket until the tour of Australia later this year.

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