Table of Contents
After major reshuffles in the Pakistan National Cricket Team's Test team, there was speculation over Aaqib Javed's role in the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) as well. From the morning of September 9, international and national media reports widely claimed that Javed's position on the selection committee was likely to be at risk.
It was also claimed that the board could sack him for the team's recent downfall. However, Pakistan's local news platform, Geo News, claims completely different. According to Geo News, despite all claims and criticisms, Aaqib Javed will continue as selector and Director of the High Performance Centre despite criticism.
Aaqib Javed to continue as Pakistan cricket team selector
While the rumour of Javed's possible exit surfaced during the daytime, the latest claims made by the Pakistani media arrived late in the evening with a different opinion.
After losing two back-to-back matches against the England National Cricket Team, PCB snubbed 7 key players, including stars like Salman Ali Agha, Mohammad Rizwan, and Imam-ul-Haq. The board also sacked Sarfaraz Ahmed as the Test team's head coach and Umar Gul as the bowling coach.
Aaqib Javed to continue as selector and Director of the High Performance Centre despite criticism. (Geo News) pic.twitter.com/ZpsSL0kkhk
— Sheri. (@CallMeSheri1_) September 5, 2026
Sources said the Pakistan Cricket Board could remove Aaqib Javed from both positions.
So, currently Aaqib Javed is holding two different roles in the Pakistan Cricket Board. Quoting a source, it was claimed that the PCB could ask him to focus only on his role as the Director of the High Performance Centre. This means the PCB could sack Javed from his selector's role. The source also claimed that the former cricketer is a very close aide of the PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi.
"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," the well-informed source told PTI.
But the latest reports are different. Based on the latest report, he is likely to continue with both positions at the same time.
The source also hinted that the exits of seven cricketers from the Test team are not only because of their performance, but the call to snub them from the team might also be because of the preferences of Mike Hesson, the white-ball coach, who just replaced Sarfaraz Ahmed as the Test team head coach.
Mike Hesson might have influenced the selectors to remove 7 cricketers from the Test team
It is claimed that Mike Hesson was appointed as the interim coach for the red-ball format. And he might want to work mostly with his preferred players, with whom he worked previously for the white-ball format.
"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 added.
Saim Ayub is one of the notable names who played multiple white-ball matches under Hesson, and is one of the players who has been included in the Test team.
