KARACHI, Nov 19: Former Pakistan captain and batting legend Javed Miandad was on Wednesday appointed as the director general of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) to oversee development of both national and international cricket.

The 51-year-old Miandad, who also had three acrimonious stints as the Pakistan coach, has pledged to improve the standard of national cricket from the grass-roots level.

While expressing his gratitude to the PCB chief Ijaz Butt, Miandad, Pakistan’s hero at the 1992 World Cup and an outspoken critic of the cricket board after he was replaced as Pakistan coach in the wake of defeat against India in 2004, immediately spelled out his plans in the new role.

“I’m honoured since this comes as a new challenge for me when the PCB Chairman [Ijaz Butt] offered me this opportunity to serve Pakistan cricket as the director general of the board. After giving it a lot of thought, I decided to take up the offer because as a former player, I felt that it’s time to pay back what Pakistan had given to me both as a player and the coach,” Miandad, a veteran of 124 Tests and 233 One-day Internationals, told Dawn.

When asked what exactly he had in mind [with regard to his new engagement], Miandad said: “Basically, I shall be overseeing the cricketing side. That includes both domestic and international levels as well as the academies. For this I would be going to different parts of the country, requiring a lot of travelling on a regular basis.

“I won’t be involved in PCB’s administrative matters because that is the domain of the chief operating officer [Saleem Altaf].

“And at the same time, I won’t be intruding in the path of Aamir Sohail [director National Cricket Academy],” Miandad, who played a record six World Cups for Pakistan, explained.

“Generally, I’m here to help develop the standard of our cricket since over the years there has been a fair criticism against the game’s structure in our country.

“There is always some room for improvement and I’m sure once we start planning on proper footing, we will be able to achieve the target of taking Pakistan cricket to a new level,” Miandad, who quit international cricket after the 1996 World Cup, stressed.

Miandad was confident that his latest assignment with the PCB would give him the chance to achieve a lifetime ambition.

“I always used to aspire as to how I could play any suitable role to lift the game from grass-roots level. Now is the opportunity to put that perspective to something I wanted to do long ago,” known for his famous last-ball six that clinched the 1986 Sharjah Cup for Pakistan, expressed.

“Having played cricket for many years and then served the country as the national coach for several times had in fact, enhanced my experience which I can use now to full effect,” Miandad, who remains the highest run getter (8,832) for Pakistan in Tests, added.

Meanwhile, Miandad expressed the hope India will tour Pakistan early next year as planned.

“We all want international cricket return to Pakistan. I will use my connections to convince countries to tour and play in this country. India should not fear about touring Pakistan,” he emphasised.