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Jasprit Bumrah has taken only three wickets – with an economy rate of 8.36 – in three games in the 2025 Asia Cup, but the India team management is satisfied with his performances, considering the “exceptionally tough job” he’s been given in the UAE.Bumrah has bowled three overs in the powerplay – and his fourth at the death – in every game so far. Before India’s tournament opener against UAE, the previous time he bowled three out of the first six overs of a T20I was in 2019.”He’s doing a very tough task,” India’s assistant coach Ryan ten Doeschate said on the eve of the Super Four game against Bangladesh. “You don’t see many bowlers in this format bowling all three overs in the powerplay. So it’s quite strenuous as well. But we feel it’s the right amount of work going into the Test match [against West Indies] and obviously the importance of this competition as well.”Related

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After taking 1 for 19 against UAE and 2 for 28 in the group game against Pakistan, Bumrah went wicketless and conceded 45 in the Super Four game against Pakistan. “It wasn’t his most polished performance against Pakistan the other night,” ten Doeschate said. “But we also understand that he’s doing an exceptionally tough job to bowl the first three overs, the two [fielders] out, and the last over and the second last over where guys are going as well.”There’s going to be days where he doesn’t get wickets and he’s going to go for runs. But in terms of how we set up the team, obviously with two seamers and going spin-heavy, we feel at the moment that’s the best job.”Bumrah has bowled 11 overs in the Asia Cup so far – he was rested for India’s final group game against Oman – and is likely to bowl another 12 if India get to the final. Ten Doeschate indicated he was unlikely to be rested for another game in this tournament.”It’s very unlikely that you [India] go into the last game knowing you’ve qualified,” ten Doeschate said. “So I’d say it’s unlikely that he’ll get a rest. Also bearing in mind we have a Test match starting [next] Thursday. So it’s actually quite good preparation in terms of workload management … So if we have the luxury to have that option [of resting Bumrah] in the last game, we can look at it. But I’d say we’re going to pick our best team for every game. He obviously fits into that picture.”Sanju Samson is getting used to life at No.5•Associated Press

‘Samson still figuring out how to play at No. 5’

The other player with an unfamiliar role at the Asia Cup is Sanju Samson, who’s batting in the middle order despite having had most of his success for India – and in the IPL – in the top three.Samson didn’t get to bat in India’s first two matches. He was sent in at No. 3 in the dead rubber against Oman in Abu Dhabi, where he top-scored with 56 off 45 balls on a pitch that most Indian batters struggled to get going. He was back down at No. 5 in the Super Four game against Pakistan, and made 13 off 17 before he was bowled attempting to pull Haris Rauf.”There’s two outings now, two decent chances and he’s still figuring out how to play that role,” ten Doeschate said of Samson in the middle order. “I think the wicket was a little bit tired in the Pakistan game. But certainly with the way Shubman [Gill] and Abhi [Abhishek Sharma] are going at the top and you’ve got your captain batting at three and the way Tilak’s [Verma] played, we’re really looking for a No. 5. So we believe Sanju is the best man for that job and we’ve got no doubt that he’ll figure out how to play that role in the future.”Ten Doeschate said the format of the Asia Cup with little room for error also meant there was little room for giving chances to the bench strength – Jitesh Sharma and Rinku Singh haven’t played a game yet. “The boys are doing excellent work with training and you probably have to look at bilateral series more realistically as a chance to get guys in to show what they can do and also to give guys a chance to show how flexible they are with their positions.”But certainly now with the format of this competition, four games, two wins doesn’t even guarantee you going through. So it’s not like you can take your foot off the pedal at any time and that’s been an unfortunate consequence of what we’re trying to achieve by trying guys in different positions.”India go into Wednesday’s game against Bangladesh as favourites. Both teams won their first Super Four game, and whoever picks up two points will be primed to make the final. “Our general principle is – respect everyone, fear no one,” ten Doeschate said. “It’s more about our process and what we’re trying to achieve. We actually thought we were a bit scrappy against Pakistan. We weren’t happy with that performance. We just had a team meeting now and as we always do, we try to address the things we feel we can be better at and more clinical at.”We respect Bangladesh. I think they’re a side on the rise. They’ve kind of adapted their cricket as well to the new style of T20. Some nice attacking players up front and we’re looking forward to the challenge.”

Gloucestershire have signed seam bowler Will Williams on a three-year contract. Williams, who began his career in New Zealand but has played for Lancashire since 2022, will join at the end of the season.The 32-year-old has only played three times in the County Championship this season but had been offered a contract extension. In all, he has taken 99 first-class wickets at 24.29 for Lancashire, as well as nine in List A competition.Gloucestershire have been severely depleted by player departures, with fast bowlers Ajeet Singh Dale, Zaman Akhter, Tom Price and Dom Goodman all agreeing moves elsewhere. Singh Dale will move in the opposite direction to Williams, Akhter is joining Essex, while Price and Goodman have both signed for Sussex.”It is not often a player becomes available still in the peak of their career with a bowling record like Will’s,” Gloucestershire’s head coach, Mark Alleyne, said”That alone would have been enough to attract our interest, but after a couple of meetings, it was clear this lad is a lot more than a high-performing bowler. He has the character I love in a cricketer and is prepared to commit totally to the cause.”I look forward to welcoming and embracing him to the Glorious family; I’m confident he will be popular with players and supporters alike.”Williams was born in New Zealand and spent ten years with Canterbury. He has dual UK-NZ citizenship and has been registered as a local player since joining Lancashire.”I’m really excited for this new chapter in my life. Speaking to Mark [Alleyne], it’s clear the club has strong ambitions, and he’s made it clear how I fit into those plans,” Williams said.”From the outside, Gloucestershire has always looked like a tight-knit, hardworking group. I’m keen to bring my experience, learn from the environment, and hopefully make a positive impact on and off the field. I can’t wait to get started and to make Gloucestershire and Bristol my new home.”

Devon Conway has described being back in New Zealand’s T20I side as “great” after last playing for them at the T20 World Cup more than a year ago. Conway has since turned down a central contract and was initially omitted from the touring group to Zimbabwe but Finn Allen’s foot injury opened the door for his return and he is relishing the chance to represent the country again.”It’s great to be back in this environment. It’s been a while, so just getting the call-up to come back into the squad is fantastic,” he said at the post-match press conference. “Obviously Finn Allen’s injury is unfortunate but for me it’s nice to get that opportunity to be with the squad again and see a couple of faces who I haven’t seen in a long period of time. And it was nice to contribute today to the win.”Conway’s 59 not out and the half-century stands he shared in with Rachin Ravindra and Daryl Mitchell helped New Zealand cruise to an eight-wicket win over Zimbabwe and to the top of the tri-series points table. Though he top-scored, it was not until the latter part of his innings that he looked comfortable after several top-edges off short balls from Zimbabwe’s seamers. Conway was dropped on 1 when he edged a back-of-a-length delivery from Richard Ngavara to Blessing Muzarabani at short third and then miscued two pull shots, which fell safely.Related

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“There was a lot of steep bounce in the surface, which was a little bit unexpected, but we adjusted and thankfully we only had to chase 121 and managed to get across the line,” he said. “With the new ball, especially their left-armer [Ngarava] was a massive challenge for us as batters. They bashed that wicket really hard and got a lot of steep bounce out of it, so it made it pretty hard for us batters early.”This match was being played on a fresh pitch after two previous fixtures earlier in the week, where the ball seemed to stick in the wicket. There are still four more round-robin games to be played before the final, which New Zealand will be confident of appearing in after winning their first two matches. They will next play South Africa on Tuesday, where Conway will be wary of Kwena Maphaka, also left-arm, against whom he top-edged in New Zealand’s opening match on Thursday.This is Conway’s first experience of working under new coach Rob Walter, who gave up the white-ball job with South Africa to take on the all-format role for New Zealand. Walter will be in charge of New Zealand for three years, which includes the next T20 and ODI World Cups. While Conway has not indicated if he would like to be considered for those tournaments, he has enjoyed working with Walter so far.”It’s just been a couple of days we’ve been with him but his positive mindset around T20 cricket has been nice and clear for us batters,” Conway said. “He’s brought positive energy and a slightly new way of thinking so it’s nice to have him on board and experimenting as to how he operates as the head coach.”

Max O’Dowd’s 158 not out trumped George Munsey’s 191 as Netherlands pulled off the third-highest successful chase in ODI cricket in their World Cup League 2 match against Scotland in Dundee.Batting first after winning the toss, Scotland rode on Munsey’s record 191 off 150 balls to put up 369 for 6. It was the highest ODI score by an Associate batter, going past Paul Stirling’s 177 against Canada in 2010. Munsey had a great chance to score a double-hundred – when he fell, ten balls were still left in the innings.Captain Matthew Cross chipped in with 59 off 49 balls. He and Munsey added 150 off 101 balls for the fifth wicket and helped Scotland post a daunting total.O’Dowd, though, wasn’t frazzled. He and Michael Levitt added 67 in 9.2 overs before Safyaan Sharif dismissed Levitt. Two overs later, Sharif dismissed Zach Lion-Cachet as well to make it 75 for 2. O’Dowd and Scott Edwards put the chase back on track and took Netherlands to 143 in 21 overs.After Edwards and then Wesley Barresi fell, O’Dowd found an ally in Teja Nidamanuru. The two scored at a brisk pace and added 101 off 91 balls. With 91 needed from the last ten overs with six wickets in hand, Netherlands were the favourites. But on the very next ball, they lost Nidamanuru.Noah Croes, though, blasted 50 off just 29 balls to shut the door on Scotland. When he fell in the 48th over, Netherlands needed only a-run-a-ball 15. Fittingly, O’Dowd hit the winning runs – a six down the ground – to take his side home with four balls and four wickets to spare.

Cooper Connolly has been called into Australia’s Champions Trophy squad after Matt Short was ruled out through injury as they prepare for what could be a trial by spin in their semi-final against India.Short picked up a quad injury against Afghanistan and would not have had time to recover for the knockout matches.Connolly, the 21-year-old left-hand batter and left-arm spinner, has been a traveling reserve with the squad so will be available immediately. He has played just three ODIs but could come straight into selection consideration given Australia have lost Short’s offspin.Related

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If the selectors opt for a like-for-like switch of opening batters then Jake Fraser-McGurk is the spare batter while if they wanted another specialist spin bowler they could consider rejigging the balance of the attack and including Tanveer Sangha.Fraser-McGurk, who himself was a replacement for Mitchell Marsh, has struggled in his seven ODIs to date with 98 runs at 14.00, looking vulnerable when the new ball moves, but the selectors still see him as a player who can take on the powerplay.If Fraser-McGurk isn’t the route taken by the selectors it will require someone from the middle order moving up to the top to fill Short’s role, potentially the in-form Josh Inglis.Australia learnt their opponents for the semi-final will be India in Dubai on Tuesday when New Zealand were beaten in the final group game.Both Group B sides who qualified – Australia and South Africa – traveled to Dubai so that the team who faced India would have time to prepare. South Africa will now head straight back to Lahore for their semi-final against New Zealand.”We’ve obviously had a bit of a hectic schedule, playing a couple of games in Pakistan, back and forth in between cities, but I think with the nature of this tournament,” legspinner Adam Zampa said.In the selection frame: Cooper Connolly could feature against India•Getty Images

Zampa shapes as a pivotal figure for Australia in the semi-final at a ground that has aided the spinners. Against New Zealand, India used 37.3 overs of spin with Varun Chakravarthy taking 5 for 42 although there had also been some early assistance for the quicks as Matt Henry and Kyle Jamieson troubled India’s top order.Australia were troubled by Sri Lanka’s spinners in their two ODIs in Colombo prior to the Champions Trophy.”It changes a little bit,” Zampa said of the conditions between Pakistan and Dubai. “Potentially slower lower wickets, so there might be an opportunity to create a few more chances, we’ll see.”Zampa added he felt there was room for improvement in his own bowling after returns of 2 for 64 against England and 2 for 48 against Afghanistan.”Personally, I don’t think I’m bowling quite at my best, but I like to think the beauty about me is when I’m not quite at my best and not feeling that great out there is my ability to still contribute and take those big wickets,” he said.”I’m obviously working on some stuff at the moment to hopefully get back to my best, but as I said, the ability to still do a job for the team and get those big wickets is still there, which to me is really important.”The last time Australia faced India in an ODI was the final of the 2023 ODI World Cup. If they win this time they will return to Lahore for the final otherwise it will be staged in Dubai.

New Zealand may have lost the first ODI in Dambulla on Wednesday by a fairly comprehensive 45-run margin, but for a youthful outfit with no less than three debutants in the playing XI, it was an opportunity to grab the “best seat in the house” in terms of learning how to play in unfamiliar conditions.”I think the experiences that you get in this part of the world, they’re obviously very different conditions from what we face back home in New Zealand,” Michael Bracewell said after the game. “Those experiences you bank and you learn from and hopefully come back better, that’s the true challenge of international cricket.”So as much as playing against them [Sri Lanka], you sort of watch them with the best seat in the house and see how they go about their business.”Related

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In that context, for around 35 overs they observed a masterclass in how to navigate a sometimes sluggish surface. While rain in the first over of the day had ensured that any dryness in the pitch would be mitigated, this still wasn’t an entirely batter friendly track.Getting in was crucial, and so proved Kusal Mendis and Avishka Fernando during a 206-run second-wicket stand off just 215 deliveries, one that effectively took the game away from the visitors.”It was difficult looking to start on as we saw, because after that big partnership between Fernando and Mendis, it was hard for the guys to come in and score straight away,” added Bracewell. “Partnerships are obviously hugely important and we saw that partnership in the first innings of some 200 runs. I think that’s what changed the game.”The majority of the time is obviously favourable here in Sri Lanka for spin, but batters can still play well on those wickets and put you under pressure. And I think we probably saw that today. The batters played really well and we’ll have to keep coming up with different answers and throwing different things at the Sri Lankan batters throughout the series, to try to break those partnerships a little bit earlier.”After Pathum Nissanka fell early, Mendis and Avishka ensured the scoring rate remained stable between five and six runs an over, rotating strike with the odd boundary thrown in. It was only closer to the halfway stage of the innings that they felt comfortable enough to up the scoring.Between the start of the 23rd over and end of the 28th over, they struck 52 runs, with the 200 coming up in the 35th over. Sri Lanka at this point were well set, but the new batters coming in after both Mendis and Avishka fell struggled to push the score to that 350 mark.Sri Lanka though, with their eventual 324 on the board, had done enough to ensure that even with a DLS-adjustment New Zealand would have a challenging target of 221 off 27 overs. In their chase, New Zealand got off to a similarly good start, as the opening pair of Will Young and Tim Robinson put on 88 off just 80 deliveries. But once they fell, the innings began to fall apart.”I think you look at the fine margins of when guys got out in our innings and things like that. And obviously there’s a little bit of scoreboard pressure, so guys coming in had to get going straight away.”So that that always makes it a challenge, but that’s part of the job of coming in that middle order. And we obviously didn’t get it right. But we’ll come again in a couple of days and we’ll be looking to resurrect that again.”Among those who perhaps could have done more was Bracewell himself. He remained unbeaten on a 32-ball 34, but with wickets tumbling at the other end he was left ruing over what could have been.”I think it was one of those ones where to chase to 221 in 27 overs was always going to be a pretty tough ask. I think we gave it a pretty good shot but we perhaps could have fired a few more shots there through the middle as well.”I’ll put my hand up and and say I could have taken the game on a little bit earlier, but yeah, I just don’t think we quite timed the chase very well.”

Tom Banton hit his third first-class century as Somerset posted 317 all out on the opening day of the Vitality County Championship Division One match with leaders Surrey at Taunton.The battle of the top two in the table began with the home side winning the toss and electing to bat first on a pitch expected to offer increasing turn as the match progresses. Banton hit a brilliant 132, one short of his career-best, with 16 fours and a six, while Tom Abell contributed 49 and James Rew 38.But Surrey launched a determined fightback with the second new ball to limit the damage from 305 for 5 at one stage. Bangladesh left-arm spinner Shakib Al Hasan, signed solely for this game, claimed 4 for 97 and Dan Worrall 3 for 41.Needing to close a 24-point gap on their opponents at the start of play, Somerset made a poor start when Lewis Goldsworthy was bowled by the second ball of the match, a Kemar Roach inswinger that clipped off stump.Archie Vaughan was promoted to form a new opening partnership and the 18-year-old son of England Ashes-winning captain Michael Vaughan looked more than up to the task as his side set about recovering from the early shock.He and Tom Lammonby took the score to 33 before Lammonby, on 21, fell to Jordan Clark’s first delivery of the game, a ball that bounced more than he expected and forced an edge to Dom Sibley at second slip.Vaughan, who had taken 18 balls to get off the mark, appeared commendably unperturbed in batting through the morning session to be unbeaten on 44 from 105 deliveries at lunch. He was given a life on 41 when Sibley failed to hold a sharp slip chance, diving to his right, off Tom Curran, making his first Championship appearance for nearly two years.Abell, seeking to build on hundreds in the previous two Championship home games, again played with confidence and was 27 not out at the interval, with Somerset having recovered to 93 for 2. But hopes that the third-wicket partnership would flourish in the afternoon session were soon dashed as Worrall had Vaughan caught behind off the second ball, edging a defensive push.Heavily depleted by international call-ups, Surrey were relying heavily on the experienced Shakib. Emerging from a watchful start, Banton reverse swept him from two boundaries in an over.Abell became Shakib’s first victim when he played back to a delivery that skidded through and bowled him one short of a half-century. Banton went to fifty off 90 balls, with six fours, and found a reliable partner in Rew as the pair blossomed in the afternoon sunshine.By tea, they had taken the total to 197 for 4, with Banton 65 not out, having survived a difficult chance to slip on 59. Rew was unbeaten on 16 and the final session saw both players prosper.Banton reverse swept Cameron Steel for four and pulled his next ball for six to move into the nineties. He earned Somerset’s first batting point with a two off Curran and the following over from Clark saw him edge a single, raising both arms as he ran to celebrate a 132-ball century.Content to play a supporting role, Rew brought up the hundred partnership off 137 balls in moving to 35 with a single off Curran and at 255 for 4 Somerset were building a position of strength. With seven added, Rew played forward defensively to Curran and edged through to wicketkeeper Ben Foakes.It was 264 for 5 when the second new ball was taken at the earliest opportunity. Worrall struck a key blow when Banton launched a big hit at a slower ball and was bowled, having faced 172 balls. The following over from Shakib saw Kasey Aldridge fall in similar fashion and Craig Overton stumped, to strangely attacking shots in the circumstances.When Lewis Gregory was bowled by Worrall for a duck, Somerset had lost four wickets in the space of 14 balls. Kiwi seamer Brett Randell was last man out on debut for 3, Shakib and Surrey ending the day on a high.

Emerging quick Lance Morris admits it’s been “frustrating” working his way through another rehab from a back injury, but hopes a cautious approach will prove beneficial as he earmarks playing in the Sheffield Shield ahead of Australia’s Test series against India this summer.The 26-year-old has not played since the ODI series against West Indies in February. After making his international debut in the series opener, Morris claimed two early wickets in the third match in Canberra before suffering a side strain which ended his season.Morris had been due to line-up for Seattle Orcas in Major League Cricket before post-season scans showed a hot spot in his back and he wasn’t considered for Australia’s current tour of Scotland and England. It was a recurrence of the injury that ruled the West Australian paceman out of the Ashes tour in 2023.Related

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“It’s been a bit frustrating,” Morris told ESPNcricinfo. “I guess you call it a stress fracture, but when we scan it, it doesn’t have the natural characteristics of a usual stress fracture. So there was some confusion at first around exactly what it was.”The tricky one for me was I didn’t actually have any back pain when I was bowling. I get monthly check-ins with an MRI on my back to make sure things are heading in the right direction. And it’s been clearing up… healing, so that’s a positive.”While he maintained his fitness levels through running and regular gym, Morris was unable to do any skills work for around eight weeks.”Frustrating to have to stop for a couple of months. I’m at that stage in my career with a Cricket Australia contract….it’s a transition into a 12-month cricketer,” he said.”I was continually preparing to go [to MLC], but never managed to get over there.”But the silver lining is I’ve stayed fit and I feel stronger than ever. Whereas if I ignored it and cracked on with things, there’s every likelihood that I would spend 12 months on the sidelines.”Lance Morris suffered a left side strain in his second ODI in February•Getty Images

Dubbed ‘The Wild Thing’ – in a nod to former tearaway Shaun Tait – Morris garnered considerable attention for his ability to bowl over 150kph. Regarded as arguably the fastest bowler in Australia, he became an enforcer for Western Australia on bouncy WACA decks and rose to the fringes of Australia’s Test team over the past couple of seasons.Having slowly built up his bowling loads, Morris had been left wondering whether he could reach maximum speed again until going “full tilt” in recent weeks restored his confidence.”The tricky thing with loading up really slowly is that you have restrictions on the pace you can bowl at different intervals,” he said. “You sort of wonder how you’re going to get back up to top speed.”But over the last couple of weeks, it’s been basically shackles off. It’s been nice to let the ball go.”Morris is set to make his return through Australia’s domestic 50-over competition starting later this month before eyeing a red-ball comeback in the Sheffield Shield. Three-time defending champions Western Australia start their Shield season against Queensland at the WACA on October 8.”Conversations so far… basically it’s ok to start playing one-day cricket, so [I might play] one of the first two white-ball games,” Morris said with WA opening the One-Day competition against New South Wales on September 22 before playing South Australia two days later.”There will be a little bit of a process in building up and getting ready for Shield cricket. But I think all going well, I should be available for round one or round two. I’m not too sure exactly yet, but we’re not far off.”There are four rounds of the Shield before the first Test in Perth. A solid base of competitive cricket might propel Morris into the mix with concerns over Australia’s depth behind incumbent pace trio Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood.”I have no expectations at all. But if the opportunity does arise, hopefully I can jump on it with both hands,” Morris said of his Test prospects. “Fingers crossed I can stay on the park this season because I think there could be a few opportunities that arise.”Liam Haskett will miss the first half of WA’s season with a back injury•Getty Images

Meanwhile, WA left-arm quick Liam Haskett is set to miss the first half of the Sheffield Shield season as he recovers from a stress fracture in his back.Post-season scans confirmed a recurrence of an injury Haskett suffered a few years ago. The towering six-foot seven-inch paceman emerged during a breakout debut season when he claimed 20 wickets at 24.75 from six Shield matches. Haskett, 23, starred in the final round with six wickets against Victoria at the Junction Oval, but missed the Shield final against Tasmania due to a heel injury.”A rough timeline would be getting back towards the end of November-early December, but that could change with a scan result,” Haskett told ESPNcricinfo. “It’s frustrating coming off the season I had, but we’ll keep working towards getting back on the field around the middle part of the season.”

Sarah Tsukigawa, the former New Zealand allrounder, has been appointed their new national selector for women’s cricket. She played 42 ODIs and 19 T20Is over a five-year international career which began in 2006 and ended in 2011.Tsukigawa will be working with the New Zealand’s head coach Ben Sawyer. Her role will include selecting players not only for the national team but also to those just below that level in the women’s cricket pathway. New Zealand are preparing to host Australia in two weeks and then head over to the UAE for the Women’s T20 World Cup. The squads for both those assignments will be announced on September 10 at Hagley Oval in Christchurch.”I’ve always wanted to get back involved in women’s cricket and give back to the game that has given me so much,” Tsukigawa, who was captain, and later assistant coach and selector, at Otago, said. She held the latter two positions while continuing her career as a teacher in Dunedin.Related

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Tsukigawa was part of the New Zealand team that played the 2009 T20 World Cup final. She also represented them in the ODI World Cup that same year. “Clear communication is an important part of selection and I feel I can bring that, along with my experience as a player,” she said in an NZC release. “I’ve got a lot of belief in this current group of White Ferns and the pathway that is being developed to produce future White Ferns.”NZC Head of Women’s High Performance, Liz Green, explained the women’s national selector would be responsible for the identification of talent across the women’s pathway and succession planning – which could come into play immediately with Sophie Devine’s decision to step down as T20I captain following the upcoming World Cup. Devine, however, wishes to keep the leadership role in ODIs.”Sarah has a clear passion for talent identification and development,” Green said. “She has a unique skillset with her experience both as a player and a selector, so she brings an understanding of the selection process from both points of view.

The fallout from Pakistan’s disappointing T20 World Cup campaign has claimed its first victims, with Wahab Riaz and Abdul Razzaq both sacked as selectors from the national side. Razzaq, who was appointed to the selection committee for both the men’s and women’s side just weeks ago, will no longer serve as a selector for the women’s team, either.As ESPNcricinfo reported last month, Wahab’s job was in danger following Pakistan’s group stage exit from the T20 World Cup. Despite being removed as chief selector earlier this year, and officially appointed as one of seven selectors to a committee that had no chief at all, Wahab was widely viewed as the de facto head of the committee. Internally, Wahab had raised frustrations at this public perception, primarily because it resulted in him bearing the brunt of any criticism for decisions the committee made, and it was a frustration that he also expressed on X after he was sacked.In a statement on Wednesday, the PCB confirmed that “it has notified” the duo that “that their services will no longer be required in the national selection committee setup”.As reported earlier, the nature of the selection committee is also likely to be reconstituted, with a chief selector eventually expected to be reappointed. The numerical strength of the panel is expected to be reduced, making it unlikely that Wahab and Razzaq will be replaced to make up the numbers.Related

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Wahab’s departure is a speedy fall from grace for a man viewed as extremely close to PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi. Wahab had served in his cabinet as caretaker sports minister while Naqvi was appointed caretaker chief minister of Punjab, and followed him to the PCB, where he was initially appointed chief selector. Wahab had also travelled with the Pakistan side to the T20 World Cup as senior team manager, another duty he is likely to be stripped of. Naqvi, for his part, is understood to have been keen to demonstrate no one was immune from adverse consequences.The decision effectively means the PCB has performed another U-turn on the procedure by which players are picked for the Pakistan national side. The seven-member committee was only announced less than four months ago, with Wahab demoted from chief selector, with each of the seven members carrying an equal vote, and Naqvi saying at the time that the committee would “make a majority decision based around debate and argument to reach a satisfactory conclusion”.It also indicates a continuation of the instability that has plagued the selection committee over recent years. The PCB has seen five chief selectors since January 2022, with Wahab, Haroon Rashid (twice), Shahid Afridi and Inzamam-ul-Haq all serving brief stints; Mohammad Wasim and Misbah-ul-Haq also served stints in the preceding period.The remaining five selection committee members are the head coach and captain of the respective formats, Mohammad Yousuf, Asad Shafiq and Bilal Afzal.