LAHORE: A new four-member selection committee to be headed by Haroon Rasheed is most likely to be officially announced by Monday as Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman Shaharyar Khan has completed consultations in his one-day visit to Karachi.

Dawn has learnt that Haroon currently holding the post of Director National Cricket Academy has been offered the important post of chief selector while Saleem Jaffar (Sindh), Azhar Khan (Punjab) and Kabir Khan (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa) will be the members of the premier committee.

A key PCB official on condition of anonymity told Dawn that earlier Saleem was being considered for the post, for the PCB wanted to give the chief selector post to a rather young person so that he could perform his duty by easily visiting various venues. However, the official added, Haroon was later on inducted as chief selector.

In Karachi, Shaharyar met former chief selector Moin Khan, Wasim Bari and wicketkeeper-batsman Sarfraz Ahmad who having performed well in the World Cup has cemented his place in the national side. Sarfraz is also being considered for One-day captaincy along with top-order batsman Azhar Ali. But Azhar’s chances are bright to captain the side, for manager Naveed Akram Cheema, outgoing captain Misbah and head coach Waqar Younis have put their weight behind him.

Both Saleem and Azhar remained selectors on a good number of occasions in the past while Haroon has also been associated with the PCB in different capacities for the last many years evoking criticism from many quarters that once again tested people are being given reins of team selection.

However, the likely members of the selection committee in Azhar and Saleem are used to visiting grounds to see matches and have good experience of domestic cricket while Kabir who has coached Afghanistan team is being tried for the first time, since Furrukh Zaman used to represent Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

Haroon is also in charge of the Youth Development which may enable him to have a good look at the talented youngsters who will have bright chances to make it to the national team since a good number of players of the current Pakistan side will not be available for selection for different reasons.

Misbah-ul-Haq and Shahid Afridi have already announced their retirement from ODIs while opener Ahmed Shehzad and middle-order batsman Umar Akmal may also be dropped due to their poor form.

Published in Dawn, March 29th, 2015

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