Our Sports Correspondent
LAHORE, May 5: Former Test opener, Mudassar Nazar was appointed director of National Cricket Academy (NCA) on Friday.
The decision was announced by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) ad hoc committee chairman Shaharyar M Khan after presiding over a meeting of the committee.
Veteran of 76 Tests and 122 ODIs, Mudassar (50), was selected among 43 candidates, including Intikhab Alam, Mushtaq Mohammad and Jalaluddin.
Mudassar had also been the coach of Pakistan team during the tenure of Lt-Gen Tauqir Zia.
The chairman explained that the ad hoc committee had put its weight behind Mudassar, who has to his name over 13 years of international cricket beginning in 1976.
He said that further details (of the job) with Mudassar would be finalised on his arrival in Pakistan which was expected in next couple of days.
The chairman pointed out that Mudassar would make appointments of other posts at the NCA. But he was unable to confirm an exact date when the NCA would start functioning.
He added that the regional National Stadium Academy in Karachi would also start along with the NCA.
However, the ad hoc committee failed to take any other decision and the issue of appointing paid selectors is still pending.
It also failed to decide on the manager of the Pakistan team for next month’s tour of England.
The current selection committee will continue as its performance is satisfactory and no discussion was held over appointing a manager for England tour, he said.
The chairman further said that the conditioning camp for the England tour would start in Lahore in the last week of May. The regular camp would be held from June 9 to 22.
He said that the PCB had reached at an agreement with Jonty Rhodes, former South Africa Test star and he would train the Pakistan players during the camp, besides also coaching and Juniors and national coaches during his two-week stay in Pakistan.
The chairman stressed that ad hoc committee had recommended that a feasibility report for a cricket TV channel should be prepared by mid-June 2006.
Asked why a consultant, who was appointed by the PCB four-month ago did not make the feasibility report, chairman said the report was presented but it was incomplete.
He said the committee also appealed to the government to hand over the cricketing control of Iqbal Stadium, Faisalabad, Arbab Niaz Stadium, Peshawar and Multan Stadium to the PCB, so that those venues could be upgraded by the time of commencement of 2008 Champions Trophy and later 2011 World Cup.
He said that TV screens of high quality would be installed in all the stadiums.