LAHORE: Former Pakistan captain Salman Butt has landed in an unusual situation after his appointment saga in the Pakistan Cricket Board's (PCB) selection committee as a consultant.
The 39-year-old was removed by Wahab Riaz a day after his appointment following massive backlash from various circles.
However, Salman Butt has also potentially lost his job as the consultant of the Afghanistan cricket team.
Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) had contacted Salman for a 25-day camp before the upcoming series but his appointment in PCB was also confirmed during the same period.
Salman prioritised PCB's role over Afghanistan but since he was removed, the left-hander awaits communication from ACB.
Remember, former cricketers Kamran Akmal, Rao Iftikhar Anjum, and Salman Butt were appointed as consultant members for Wahab-led selection committee.
However, a decision has been made to take Salman Butt's name back after the decision drew severe criticism from the cricketing fraternity.
Wahab stressed that it was he who made the decision to include Butt in the committee and now he has decided to remove him. "The decision to take Salman Butt's name back is solely mine."
"Salman Butt has served his time, people have to move on now. They are instead running agendas against myself and against Salman, and a few media houses are involved in running agendas. People were accusing me of nepotism too," he added.
"I was getting criticised for appointing Salman But with an allegation of preferring friendships. I didn't want this to happen for which I reverted back my decision on Salman Butt," he maintained.
Wahab also confirmed the appointment of Test batter Asad Shafiq to the committee.
The 37-year-old will be seen assisting the team during the New Zealand T20I series as his initial assignment.
The delay in Shafiq joining the selection committee comes as he is due to play in the Sindh Premier League (SPL), which is scheduled to take place this month.
Sohail Imran Sohail Imran is a senior reporter for Geo News.