Moin Khan appointed Pakistan chief selector

Moin Khan, the former Pakistan captain and wicketkeeper, has been appointed the chief selector of the Pakistan national team. The PCB announced that Moin will replace former chief selector Iqbal Qasim but said that the rest of the selection committee will continue under the new leadership. Qasim had decided not to renew his contract with the PCB earlier this month.

"It is an honour and a privilege to be offered the position of chairman of national selection committee - a position held by many greats in the past and most recently by legendary Iqbal Qasim," Moin said. "I have accepted this as a challenge and I am glad that PCB and my own vision correspond in terms of preparing a pool of talented cricketers who can mount an effective challenge in the 2015 World Cup."

Moin was appointed by acting PCB chairman Najam Sethi, who according to the constitution holds no powers to make such a move, being an interim incumbent. The PCB however backed Sethi's decision. "In the PCB board of governors meeting held on 10th July, 2013, the governing board had authorised the acting chairman to take any decisions required to safeguard the interests and functioning of the PCB in all matters," the PCB spokesman told ESPNcricinfo. "This was to ensure that the affairs of the PCB continue without hindrance in terms of selection of teams, appointment of the selection committee, tour schedules, etc."

With Qasim's stepping aside, the PCB had formally dissolved the selection committee, but retained all the members - Azhar Khan, Saleem Jaffer, and two co-opted members, Asif Baloch and Farrukh Zaman - who will now work with Moin. "The other members of the selection committee that was headed by Mr Iqbal Qasim will continue to work under Moin till further orders," the PCB said in a brief statement.

Moin, who met with interim chairman Sethi on Monday, made his Test debut against West Indies in 1990 and went on to lead the team in 13 Tests. He played his last Test in 2004, ending his 69-match career with 2741 runs. His 147 wicketkeeping dismissals are third in the list of Pakistan wicketkeepers behind Wasim Bari and Kamran Akmal.

Moin, 41, also represented Pakistan in 219 ODIs and is the most successful wicketkeeper for Pakistan in ODIs with 287 dismissals. In 2007, Moin was among the various Pakistan players who joined the unofficial - and now defunct - Indian Cricket League; he signed up to coach Hyderabad Heroes and Lahore Badshahs. Following his retirement from cricket, he has been running various businesses including the Moin Khan Academy in Karachi.