Salman Butt, Rao Iftikhar, and Kamran Akmal are named by PCB to the men’s team selection panel

Former players Salman Butt, Rao Iftikhar Anjum, and Kamran Akmal have been appointed as consultant members to head selector Wahab Riaz by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB).

With immediate effect, the three recently appointed members of the selection panel will assume their respective duties, since their new task is Pakistan’s five-match Twenty20 International series against New Zealand.

The start of the series is scheduled for January 12, which coincides with the end of their Test tour of Australia.

When the three are not performing their responsibilities as selectors for the national team, the PCB will assign them to other jobs as well, such as overseeing the efficient running of skill camps.

Anjum and Akmal have both experienced similar situations before, but Butt will be doing so for the first time.

Prior to retiring from all forms of cricket in February, Akmal played for Pakistan in 53 Tests, 157 ODIs, and 58 T20Is throughout the course of his 15-year career. Earlier this year, he was chosen head of PCB’s Junior Selection committee.

In addition, he oversaw an eight-person selection committee that was in charge of holding trials for the Under-13, Under-16, and Under-19 divisions in order to choose regional and district teams.

However, Anjum was a member of the committee when Pakistan’s men’s national team temporary head selector Shahid Afridi was appointed.

Since his long-term suspension for his involvement in the 2010 spot-fixing incident, Butt has assumed such an official function.

He was the captain when he received the suspension and has participated in 33 Tests, 78 ODIs, and 24 T20Is.

Although Butt was never able to rejoin the Pakistan squad, he did participate in some first-class cricket before accepting a PCB commentary position in 2020.

The Pakistani side has undergone significant adjustments after their underwhelming performance in the 2023 ODI World Cup in India.

After Inzamam-ul-Haq resigned from his post due to accusations of a conflict of interest, Wahab Riaz was named head selector.

In addition to his role as team director, Mohammad Hafeez will lead Pakistan’s national squad in Australia and New Zealand.

On November 20, the Australian Test series’ three-match lineup was revealed.

Shan Masood’s first task as Pakistan captain will be the crucial series, after Babar Azam’s resignation as skipper of all forms last month.