Wahab Riaz Breaks Silence After Getting Sacked by PCB: 'A lot I Can Say but Don’t Want to Get into Blame Games'

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) sacked former pacer Wahab Riaz from his post in the selection committee in the aftermath of Pakistan’s debacle in the T20 World Cup 2024. The Babar Azam-led side couldn’t make it to the Super 8 after consecutive losses, against the USA and India, in the group stage. The victories against Canada and Ireland didn’t suffice for their qualification, resulting in their early exit from the tournament.

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Pakistan’s horrendous run in the World Cup prompted PCB chief Mohsin Naqvi to take strict action as he had stated the board would perform a ‘surgery’ on the team. The first major step taken since making the statement was the sacking of Riaz and Abdul Razzaq.

Later in the day, Riaz opened up on the development via a long social media post stating that he had a lot of things to say but preferred not to ‘get into a blame game’.

“There is a lot I can say but I don’t want to be part of the blame games,” the caption of Riaz’s post read.

Riaz’s social media post:

“My time serving as a member of the selection committee for PCB comes to an end, I just want my people to know that I have served the game I love with faith and sincerity and have given 100 percent for the betterment of Pakistan cricket,” Riaz wrote.

“It has been an honour to serve as part of the selection panel. To make collaborative decisions as part of the seven man panel to select the national team was a privilege – everyone’s vote carried equal weight, we made selection decisions as a team & shared the responsibility of that process equally. It was an honour to contribute my part to that.

“Moreover, it was an honour to support Gary Kirsten & the coaching group as they set their vision for this team. I am confident that the team plans the coaches have put together will ensure this team continues to grow into a dominant force as we move forward and I wish them the best of luck on that journey.

“I am thankful to the people who have prayed for me. I wish nothing but success for the future of the Pakistan cricket team,” he concluded.

As per a report in ESPNCricinfo, the PCB is likely to reconstitute the nature of the selection committee, and a chief selector is expected to be reappointed again. Riaz was named chief selector last year but was removed from the role earlier this year, and was officially appointed as one of seven selectors to a committee that had no chief.