LAHORE: Misbah-ul-Haq has decided to step down from the chief selector’s responsibilities to concentrate and focus on the head coach’s role of the men’s national team.
The tenure of new chief selector will start from 1st December and until then; Misbah will continue to carry out selection responsibilities. The decision means Misbah will announce the squad for the home series against Zimbabwe on 19th October and then for the away series against New Zealand, a PCB spokesman, said.
The first assignment of the new chief selector will be to select the squads for the January home series against South Africa, comprising two Tests and three Twenty20 Internationals.
Commenting on his decision, Misbah said: “I have thoroughly enjoyed the dual roles but after reviewing the past 12 months and looking ahead at the workload in the next 24 months of my tenure, it is appropriate that I invest and dedicate all my time, energy and attention to one role from now on. Coaching is my passion and my ultimate objective remains to contribute to the development of players and help the side achieve bigger successes. When I was appointed last year, I was offered the coaching role first and then given the option to also head the selection committee, which I had graciously accepted.” “I had been thinking about the demands and rigours of the dual roles for some time. The meetings with the National High Performance staff and the Cricket Association coaches in the past two weeks have provided me better clarity and helped me in my decision-making as I believe we now have a strong system in place,” Misbah said, adding: “With the new Cricket Association system in full flow, the chief selector has to be able to watch as much domestic cricket as possible. With a big 24 months now coming up, we have mutually agreed that there is a need for me now to be fully focused on one role.”
PCB chief executive Wasim Khan said: “The PCB wholeheartedly respects Misbah’s decision on stepping away from the chief selector role. Pakistan has three global events, including two Asia Cups and the ICC T20 World Cup 2021, as well as 10 Future Tour Programme commitments over the next 24 years. As head coach of the national side, he has reassessed his priorities and believes he has a better chance of producing the desired results by focusing solely on the coaching side.”
Copyright Business Recorder, 2020