The PCB has sidelined the national selectors and appointed an interim committee under the chairmanship of Wasim Bari to pick the Sri Lanka-bound squad.
In a surprising move, the Pakistan Cricket Board has sidelined the national selectors and appointed an interim committee under the chairmanship of former player Wasim Bari to pick the Sri Lanka-bound squad.
The interim selection committee would pick the squad after consulting national team captain, vice-captain and coach while the PCB chairman Ejaz Butt will have the final say in approving the same.
"Saleem Jaffer and Shoaib Mohammad will not be part of the selection process for the coming tour. This will be done by the interim selection committee," a PCB spokesman said on Wednesday.
Pakistan team is scheduled to play three Tests, five ODIs and a Twenty20 match in the island country.
But with chairman Butt and the chief operating officer Saleem Altaf in England where the Twenty20 World Cup is on, no senior board official was able to explain the reason for sidelining the regular selectors.
"The chairman will decide on the composition of the selection committee when he returns home," the spokesman said.
But the decision to bring back Bari, who is presently working as Director of Human Resources in the PCB, is a clear indication that Butt only trusts those close to him.
Meanwhile, former Pakistan skipper Moin Khan opposed the idea of forming an interim selection committee.
"It makes no sense to have an interim selection committee because there is still time left for the Sri Lanka tour. It sends out the message that there is confusion within the board," Khan said.
The move comes few days after former Test cricketer Abdul Qadir resigned as chief selector in mysterious circumstances accusing the board chairman, Pakistan team coach and manager of interfering and thus not allowing the selectors to work independently.
Qadir repeated his allegations yesterday on a television channel insisting that Butt had not allowed him to work properly and coach Intikhab Alam and manager Yawar Saeed were responsible for creating dissensions in Pakistan cricket.
Bari, who was the chief selector during Pakistan's disastrous exits from 2003 and 2007 World Cups, said, "I have no interest in this position but I can't turn down the responsibilities given to me by the chairman."
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