Karachi, July 13 (Inditop.com) Former Test spinner Iqbal Qasim was Monday installed as the new Pakistan chief cricket selector.
Qasim, 55, will take over from another former Test cricketer Wasim Bari, who served as an interim chief selector following the resignation of Abdul Qadir as the chairman of the national selection committee last month because of differences with the Pakistan team management and senior board officials.
Former Test pacer Saleem Jaffer, who served as a selector under Qadir, has been retained in the committee that includes Ijaz Ahmed, Mohammad Ilyas and Azhar Khan. Asif Baloch and Farrukh Zaman are the co-opted members.
According to a Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) announcement, the new selection committee will start working from August 1.
The appointment of the new selection committee is an effort by the PCB to normalise things in the national cricket set-up after Qadir created a major controversy during the World Twenty20 Championship when he stepped down and accused board officials of meddling with selection affairs.
By opting to have the soft-spoken Qasim as the new chief selector, the PCB has decided to bring more stability within the selection.
Qasim, who has served as a selector in the past, is a respectable figure in national cricket circles. The Karachi-based Qasim played 50 Test matches between 1976-88 and claimed 171 wickets at an average of 28.11.
