Leicestershire turn to Wasim Khan

Leicestershire have announced the appointment of Wasim Khan as their new chief executive officer. Khan, the first British-born Muslim to play county cricket, is currently CEO of the Cricket Foundation charity and will start in his new role in early January.

Khan will again be breaking new ground, as the first British Asian to take up a county chief executive position. His appointment, first reported on ESPNcricinfo, marks the beginning of Leicestershire's attempts to turn around their fortunes after recent struggles.

"It is a tremendous honour to be appointed as chief executive officer of Leicestershire County Cricket Club and Leicestershire and Rutland Cricket," Khan said. "I am really looking forward to working with all of the staff and the board because I know there are terrific people at Grace Road. It is an exciting opportunity for me.

"While I am delighted to be taking on this new challenge in the new year, it is also a sad time as I am saying goodbye to the Cricket Foundation. It has been an honour and a privilege to have been able to contribute to the inspirational Cricket Foundation charity.

"We set out to change the landscape of schools and community cricket in this country and to give thousands of young people the opportunity to play and learn through this great game. I'm proud that we have exceeded our initial ten-year target of reaching two million children in a third of state schools. I have no doubt that the fantastic team at Cricket Foundation will ensure that many more young people will receive the same opportunity to play the game we all love."

A player with Warwickshire and Sussex, Khan moved into cricket administration after retirement. His work with the Cricket Foundation, which included setting up the Chance to Shine scheme aimed at getting more children into cricket, has been highly regarded and earned him an MBE in 2013.

He replaces Mike Siddall, who announced his intention to stand down after four years in the job. Leicestershire finished 2014 without a win in the Championship for the second season running - the first club to do so since the 1930s - and subsequently removed Phil Whitticase from his role as director of cricket. Andrew McDonald, the former Australia allrounder and overseas player with Leicestershire, has been tipped as their new coach.

As well as building greater links with the local Asian community, Khan will also be tasked with addressing the drain of talent from Grace Road. Shiv Thakor, Josh Cobb, Nathan Buck and Greg Smith all left at the end of the season, following the likes of James Taylor, Harry Gurney and Stuart Broad in seeking brighter futures away from the county that developed them.

Leicestershire chairman Paul Haywood said: "We are delighted to welcome Wasim to Grace Road. The process of appointing our new chief executive has been a rigorous one and there were a high number of quality applicants. Wasim impressed the interview panel with his vision for the future, his passion for the game, and his track record both in cricket and cricket administration.

"Wasim has tremendous experience and knowledge of cricket from his days as a player and an administrator and has a track record in building successful teams. Wasim is very knowledgeable and we know that he will do a tremendous job for us."