Mohsin Khan appointed Pakistan's chief selector

Mohsin Khan, the former Pakistan batsman, has been appointed chairman of selectors by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB). Mohsin, 54, will begin his duties "with immediate effect", the board said in a statement.

Mohammad Ilyas, Salim Jaffer and Azhar Khan will continue as regular members while Asif Baloch and Farrukh Zaman will continue as co-opted members of the Selection Committee.

Mohsin played 48 Tests, scoring 2709 runs at 37.10, and also has 1877 runs in 75 ODIs at 26.81. He made his international debut in an ODI against West Indies in March 1977 and played for Pakistan till 1986.

His appointment followed Iqbal Qasim's resignation in January as Pakistan's chief selector, following the side's disastrous tour of Australia. The team was whitewashed in both the Test and ODI series in one of Pakistan's most dispiriting campaigns in recent years.

Mohsin becomes the third Pakistan chief selector in less than a year (the fourth if a temporary stint by Wasim Bari last year is included), following on from Qasim and Abdul Qadir, who also resigned last year as Pakistan were on their way to winning the World Twenty20.

It is believed Mohsin's role will be that of a full-time selector and thus a paid post, as opposed to Qasim's stint, which was an honorary one. During the administration of Nasim Ashraf, Mohsin was a board regional director, based in Karachi.

Surprisingly, he has not been given a specific timeframe just yet. "There is no specific period for Mohsin's tenure, as it all depends on the circumstances," Ijaz Butt, chairman PCB, told Dawn. "The PCB has also appointed Iqbal Qasim till the 2011 World Cup. But he had to resign. Therefore, Mohsin will continue till the next decision."