Misbah to have only advisory role in final XI selection

LAHORE: The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has limited the selection powers of head coach Misbah-ul-Haq as part of its new policy, sources revealed on Wednesday.

As per the new policy, Misbah’s right to pick the team was taken away and captain Babar Azam will now have the final authority with the consultation of other committee members while selecting the team.

“The role of a head coach will be advisory,” the sources added.

Up until now, Misbah used to have the final say, while the captain was only consulted. But from now on things have been drawn the other way round with captain now having full say and head coach to have an advisory role. Following the development, final selection for the South Africa series will be done by Babar Azam, sources disclosed.

Babar will also consult Younis Khan, who is the batting coach.

According to sources, cricket committee members Wasim Akram, Umar Gul, and Urooj Mumtaz are not in favour of removing Misbah.

There had been reports that Misbah’s future as the national team’s head coach was uncertain as the PCB’s think tank had started looking for options to stop the decline in the team’s performance.

The Pakistan team and its management came under fire after the poor performance against New Zealand. It was the third consecutive away series loss in Tests during the past 14 months.

New chief selector Muhammad Waseem will announce the squad for South Africa series on Friday (tomorrow).