LAHORE: Shaharyar Khan has taken the right decision. The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman said he’s in consultation with prominent former Test cricketers and former chairmen of the board, bypassing the country’s cricket governing body’s non-technocratic Board of Governors (BoG) as he decides on the new One-day International (ODI) captain and the new selection committee.

With Misbah-ul-Haq retiring from ODI cricket after Pakistan’s World Cup campaign ended in the quarter-finals, Shaharyar admitted that the next captain would be named “in two or three days” along with a new selection committee with a series against Bangladesh, due in April, to be finalised any time soon.

“I’m in consultation with former captains, prominent former cricketers and former PCB chairmen over the appointment of next ODI captain and a new selection committee and in next two or three days we’ll be able to make an announcement,” Shaharyar told reporters here on Wednesday.

“We are in negotiations with the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) over the financial and security issues of the series and since it may be finalised at any moment, we need to appoint the ODI captain and the new selection committee soon.”

PCB’s 10-memeber BoG has just one former Test cricketer in Iqbal Qasim with the other nine, including Shaharyar, having no direct link with the sport and it is a wise step to consult former cricketers and chairmen on the appointment of the new ODI leader.

Shaharyar reiterated Misbah “remains the Test captain” and that he had been given suggestions by the outgoing ODI captain on his replacement. “We don’t have any obvious choices for vice-captaincy but we may appoint a suitable person on that post.”

There are reports Shaharyar is considering Azhar Ali as the next captain as he believes the middle-order batsman will provide the similar calming influence that Misbah had on the team.

Azhar, however, has been largely restricted to Tests over the last year but with Misbah’s place vacant, he seems to be a perfect option to fill his void — both as captain and in the middle of Pakistan’s batting order.

It is also possible that the other contender for ODI captaincy, wicketkeeper/batsman Sarfraz Ahmed could be named Azhar’s deputy. Azhar may also be named as the Test vice-captain.

For the selection committee, the PCB chief made it clear that those former cricketers who were criticising the board and the national team during the World Cup “will not be considered” as he want to pick “decent, straight-forward people having no political agenda”.

Shaharyar, however, was coy on Moin Khan’s prospects as he left as soon as he was asked about the chief selector. “Now, I’m leaving and soon you’ll find a new person on those posts,” he said.

Former Test captain Moin was handed unprecedented powers by Shahryar’s predecessor Najam Sethi but failed to deliver as chief selector. His selected team, which never seemed like serious World Cup contenders, flopped spectacularly Down Under.

Moreover, his World Cup trip as the head of the tour selection committee was cut short after he was spotted at a casino in Christchurch after Pakistan’s defeats to India and West Indies in their opening two games which forced Shaharyar to call him back.

Published in Dawn, March 26th, 2015

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