KARACHI - The Pakistan Cricket Board has widened its hunt for a new chief selector by including Inzamam-ul-Haq in the list of contenders after the former captain expressed his interest in the job.
A reliable source in the Board confirmed that PCB Chairman Shaharyar Khan was in touch with Inzamam and Rashid to discuss the possibility of giving one of them the responsibility of chief selector.
“Look nothing is final as yet that is for sure. Shaharyar is presently in the process of talking to likely candidates and Inzamam and Rashid are among them. But it is wrong to say Inzamam has been finalised as chief selector,” the source told PTI.
He said Inzamam had shown interest in becoming the chief selector but there were two major hurdles in his way — one was that he would have to leave his job as head coach of the Afghanistan team which earns him a monthly salary of USD 12,000.
“Obviously the Board will have to match that amount if it ropes him in. But so far nothing is final and the only thing confirmed is that Inzamam has shown interest in the job,” the source said.
Inzamam, who is Pakistan’s most capped player with 120 Tests and 398 one-day internationals, joined Afghanistan as their head coach last year and along with former Indian pacer, Manoj Prabhakar, has managed to produce some decent results with them.
Rashid Latif, who in the past has also declined the post of chief selector, reiterated that he was not keen on this job. The source said the board was also former Test opener Mohsin Khan and former spinner Iqbal Qasim as possible chief selectors.
The PCB is on the hunt for a new chief selector after dissolving the previous committee owing to Pakistan’s failed disastrous Asia Cup and World T20 campaign.
The poor results also led to the resignation of head coach Waqar Younis and captain Shahid Afridi. Pakistan’s former captain and top batsman Muhammad Yousuf said if Inzamam or Rashid became chief selector, he would be willing to work under them.
“I think they are both ideal choices for this post as we need those people in the chain of command who have played modern day cricket and understand the importance of promoting and grooming new talent,” Yousuf said.