Pakistan Cricket Board to remove Aaqib Javed from selection committee

Aaqib Javed, Mohsin Naqvi

Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) is likely to remove former Test cricketer and chief selector Aaqib Javed from the national selection committee as part of a wider "clean-up" exercise being carried out within the board, news agency PTI reported. The development comes days after senior players Mohammad Rizwan, Imam-ul-Haq and Salman Ali Agha were sent home from England. The decision has raised questions over Pakistan's selection policy and team management.

“Aqib is also likely to be told to focus on his role as Director Development at the Lahore High Performance Centre,” a source was quoted as saying by PTI. According to the PTI quoted source, the decision to send back Rizwan, Imam and Salman was part of the PCB's wider plan. He claimed that Rizwan and Imam were dropped not only because of their form but also because of their behaviour in the dressing room.

“The rest of the players sent back were done so on the recommendation of interim red-ball head coach Mike Hesson, who wanted to try out some players he had worked with in the white-ball camp,” the source was further quoted as saying by PTI. It added that the PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi was keen on a "clean-up" and that the selection committee could be the next area to see changes.

“Aaqib, who is considered the blue-eyed boy of the chairman, is also likely to be told to just focus on his role as Director Development at the Lahore High Performance Centre,” he said. Another member of the selection committee, former Pakistan captain Misbah-ul-Haq, has already offered to step down.

The PCB has also issued notices to members of the selection committee and advisory committee, asking them to explain the selection of Imam and Rizwan for the England tour and the criteria used to formulate the selection policy. Aaqib has been one of the influential figures within the PCB and has had a significant role in selection and other team-related matters.

Pakistan suffered an innings and 103-run loss in the series opener at Headingley before going down by 194 runs at Lord's on Sunday as England took an unbeatable 2-0 lead in the three-match series. The Pakistan Cricket Board responded to those defeats in dramatic fashion, taking the extraordinary step of sending seven players home, calling up another seven and replacing sacked Test coach Sarfaraz Ahmed with Hesson, already Pakistan's white-ball boss. Senior players Imam-ul-Haq and Salman Ali Agha, who was Pakistan's captain at Headingley when Babar Azam was injured, were among those told to leave.