The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has named former captain Shahid Afridi as interim chief selector of the men's team and ex-internationals Abdul Razzaq and Rao Iftikhar as members of the selection panel. Najam Sethi, new chairman of the PCB's management committee, dissolved the previous committee that was headed by Mohammad Wasim. Sethi fired Ramiz Raja as PCB chairman Thursday after the government appointed a management committee to form a new governing board within four months. Former Test player Haroon Rasheed, one of 14 members of the new interim management committee, was named as convenor of the selection committee. Wasim, a former Pakistan middle-order batter, was appointed in 2020 and was expected to stay until next year's 50-over World Cup in India. Sethi welcomed Afridi as head of the selection panel and hoped the committee "will make brave and bold decisions that will help us produce a strong and competitive side in the series against New Zealand." Read more: Ramiz sacked and Sethi reappointed chair of Pakistan cricket Pakistan already announced a 16-strong squad for the two-Test series against New Zealand that starts Monday and it was not clear whether the new selection committee will now make changes. Afridi scored 11,196 runs and took 541 wickets with his leg-spin bowling in his 27 Test matches, 398 ODIs and 99 T20s. He also captained the team in 83 international matches. He was a member of the team which won the 2009 T20 World Cup in England. "We need to get back to winning ways," Afridi said in a statement. "I have no doubts that through meritocratic and strategic selection decisions, we will help the national side perform strongly in the series against New Zealand and reclaim the confidence of our fans." New Zealand will play their first international matches in Pakistan since 2003 when they last toured the country for a limited-overs series. Pakistan suffered a 3-0 clean sweep against England last week, their first whitewash at home in a series featuring three or more Test matches. Read more: BPL: Shahid Afridi stars with bat, Comilla beat Sylhet by 4 wickets

Bangladesh’s all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan equalled the record of Pakistan legend Shahid Afridi of taking the highest 39 wickets in the T20 World Cups. He earned the feat by taking four wickets conceding only nine runs in his four-over spell against ongoing T20 World Cup match against Papua New Guinea in Muscat on Thursday. Shakib’s four-wicket haul helped the Tigers register an 84-run win against Papua New Guinea in the ongoing T20 World Cup and book a place in the next phase of the World Cup— the Super 12s. Read: ICC T20 World Cup 2021: Shakib Al Hasan Reaches Three Unique Milestones In Thursday’s match, Bangladesh won the toss and opted to bat first. They posted 181 for 7 in 20 overs. Mahmudullah Riyad posted 50. In reply, Papua New Guinea tumbled for 97 for all wickets in 19.3 overs. It was Bangladesh’s biggest in terms of runs. “We’re getting more confident playing each game. The defeat in the first match was a setback, but in the T20 format, the team that is better on the day wins. But now the pressure is off and we can play expressively,” Shakib said. Afridi took 39 wickets in 34 matches of the T20 World Cups between 2007 and 2016. Shakib needed 28 matches to touch Afridi’s record. Along the way of taking 39 wickets, Shakib registered three four-wicket hauls, while Afridi has two four-wicket hauls. Read: Shakib becomes highest-wicket taker in T20Is On Thursday, Shakib also scored 46 runs off 37 balls which helped him to earn the player of the match award. In the previous match against Oman, he also was the player of the match. In the previous match, Shakib became the highest wicket-taker in T20 Internationals surpassing Sri Lankan legend Lasith Malinga.

Bangladesh natioal cricketer Mushfiqur Rahim, one of the country's most popular sportsmen,launched three coronavirus sample testing booths on Wednesday with the money he received after selling his bat in auction.

Former Pakistan cricket team captain Shahid Afridi has tested positive for COVID-19.