Pak cricket chief selector resigns to give ‘room’ to new PCB chief

Hours after the formal announcement of the appointment of new PCB chief Ijaz Butt, Pakistan’s chief selector Salahuddin Ahmad resigned here last evening, saying that he wanted to give room to the new chief to appoint a chief selector of his own choice.

Lahore, Oct 9 : Hours after the formal announcement of the appointment of new PCB chief Ijaz Butt, Pakistan’s chief selector Salahuddin Ahmad resigned here last evening, saying that he wanted to give "room" to the new chief to appoint a chief selector of his own choice.

He, however, welcomed Butt’s appointment.

"I welcome the appointment of Mr Ijaz Butt as the new PCB chief and wish him all the best," the Daily Times quoted him as saying.

It is widely anticipated that the new PCB chief would carry out some sweeping changes in the national cricket set-up in the coming weeks.

Salahuddin, who was named as the chief selector last April, just weeks after Pakistan’s embarrassing first round exit from the 2007 World Cup, said he gave his best during his stint as the head of the national selection committee.

"I must give credit to former PCB chairman Nasim Ashraf for his relentless hard work and dedicated efforts. Nasim gave the selectors a free hand and we were never pressurised to select any player in the team," said Salahuddin.

Meanwhile, Saleem Jaffer and Shafqat Rana - the two members of the national selection committee - have decided against following suit.

ANI