KARACHI: Pakistan’s chief cricket selector Iqbal Qasim stepped down at the end of his tenure yesterday, denying any rift with the national team’s captain and coach.
“I have told the top officials of the PCB (Pakistan Cricket Board) that I have completed my tenure so they should appoint a new panel for future selection,” Qasim said.
Qasim led the selection committee which on Wednesday named one-day and Twenty20 squads for this month’s tour of the West Indies, dropping flopped players Shoaib Malik, Kamran Akmal and Imran Farhat, and recalling all-rounder Shahid Afridi.
PCB interim chairman Najam Sethi approved Qasim’s decision to go.
Sethi confirmed that Qasim had asked to be relieved of his duties after extending his tenure from April to July.
Local media have speculated about differences between Qasim, captain Misbah-ul Haq and coach Dav Whatmore, and Twenty20 captain Mohammad Hafeez over selection, but Qasim denied any rift.
“I had no differences with anyone,” said Qasim, a former left arm spinner who played 50 Tests and 15 one-day matches for Pakistan.
Qasim’s committee came under criticism after the team crashed out of the Champions Trophy in England last month.
He has served repeated tenures as chief selector.
In 2010, he resigned after the team’s 3-0 rout in Australia.
AFP
