Veteran wicket-keeper Rashid Latif was named to replace Waqar Younis as Pakistan captain and Javed Miandad was appointed coach of the team that will play in the Sharjah Cup next month.
PCB while sacking Waqar after the disastrous World Cup where Pakistan failed to qualify for the Super Six round, also named an expanded new selection committee headed by former Test skipper Aamir Sohail.
Batsman Yousuf Youhana takes over the reign of vice-captaincy from Inzamam-ul-Haq who opted to quit the post.
Haroon Rasheed, the ex-Test batsman who had previously served PCB in the past as junior and senior team coach, has been named as manager in place of former diplomat Shaharyar Khan.
According to a PCB spokesman, the changes end days of speculation the board would reshape the team management and selection committee to make a fresh start to rebuild the team.
“They are all experienced people in Pakistan cricket and know what is expected of them,” he said. “The board is hopeful this combination will work well.”
Rashid, 34, who had initially decided to retire from international cricket after the World Cup having already quit Test cricket in November last year, vowed to achieve good results in his second tenure as captain.
“I have accepted the responsibility of leading the team at this critical stage as I want to play a key role in the revival of the senior team,” Rashid said. “It is a big honour for me and I will work closely with the new selection committee and team management to bring positive results for Pakistan.”
Rashid had been captain in 1998 when he led Pakistan to Bangladesh, South Africa and Zimbabwe before being removed by the previous PCB set-up. Incidentally, Haroon was the team coach on those trips.
When asked why he chose to play on, the wicket-keeper/batsman said: “I have decided against retiring now because this is a critical period for the team,” he said. “And I believe I can still play a vital role in the rebuilding process.”
Rashid, who has played 34 Tests and 149 one-dayers since his debut in 1992, was one of the few Pakistan successes in the World Cup.
He had captained the country in three Tests and 13 One-day Internationals.
Rashid will be Pakistan’s seventh captain in the last five years while Miandad is the 11th coach in the same period.
Former captain Miandad, Pakistan’s highest run-maker in Tests, was coach twice between 1998 and 2001 before being forced to step down because of differences with senior players.
Miandad, who now starts his third term as coach, replaces Richard Pybus. The South African-based Englishman was hired on three occasions by PCB. Pybus decided against seeking a new deal with Pakistan after his last term expired in the World Cup.
Meanwhile, the new selection committee also includes ex-Test players Saleem Yousuf, Shoaib Mohammad, Farrukh Zaman and Shafiq Ahmed. Saleem Yousuf has also served PCB in the past.
Shafiq is the only member retained from the outgoing three-man committee, which was headed by Wasim Bari and also included Abdul Raqeeb as member.
AFP adds: Rashid is better known as the man who blew the whistle on the match-fixing scandal in 1994 when he walked out of the tour of South Africa and Zimbabwe, accusing then captain Salim Malik of being involved with bookmakers.
Rashid was involved in an unsavoury incident in the on-going World Cup when he was reported by Australia’s Adam Gilchrist for an alleged racial slur during the teams’ opener at Johannesburg on Feb 11.
The Pakistani was cleared of the charge by match referee Clive Lloyd and later threatened to sue the entire Australian team before dropping the idea.