3
ISLAMABAD: Mohsin Hassan Khan is likely to retract his decision of quitting as chief selector of the national cricket team after meeting with Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Chairman Ijaz Butt, reports said on Wednesday.
Khan had earlier, on Tuesday, threatened to leave his job following differences over the selection of Pakistan’s Test squad for the two-match series against the West Indies. However, the former opening batsman is expected to defer his decision after a meeting with Butt, whose approval is necessary before the composition of the squad is made public.
”I have asked the Pakistan Cricket Board to let me know by tomorrow afternoon whether they are making changes or not. I will resign if they are not replaced by Wednesday afternoon,” Khan told the Associated Press on Tuesday.
Khan, who didn’t name the players he wants in the squad, is reportedly at odds with the rest of the selection panel of Asif Baloch, Mohammad Ilyas, Azhar Khan and Farrukh Zaman. Baloch is the only one who has never played test or one-day international cricket.
The Pakistan Cricket Board has picked uncapped wicketkeeper Mohammad Salman instead of Adnan Akmal, who took 16 catches plus one stumping in four tests against South Africa and New Zealand.
The PCB reacted to Khan’s statement today, by saying that the board chairman and selection committee were to meet on the final selection of the squad but Khan was unavailable and the meeting will now be held on Thursday.
Khan is the fifth chief selector since Ijaz Butt took over as PCB chairman in October 2008.
Interestingly, the board’s statement also highlighted the working relationship between the national selection committee and the tour selection committee (comprising the captain, coach and manager on most occasions), saying the two “are independent bodies and though, at times, they seek mutual input but in no case one can interfere in the matters of the other.”
Pakistan will play their first Test against West Indies starting May 12, at Guyana. St. Kitts will host the second Test from May 20.
