Karachi, Sep 1 (IANS) The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Tuesday appointed Wasim Bari as its Chief Operating Officer (COO) on a temporary basis, a day after Saleem Altaf was sacked from the post.
A PCB spokesman said Bari, a former Pakistan Test cricketer, will work as the COO till the post is filled on a permanent basis by the governing board.

Bari, who is already serving as the PCB’s Director of Human Resources, is believed to be very close to PCB chairman Ijaz Butt.

Butt had fallen out with Altaf due to differences on key administrative issues.

The PCB sent a termination letter to Altaf Monday evening stating his services were not required by the board anymore.

However, Altaf claimed he had not received any such letter. “I will certainly consider going to court if any such letter is sent to me,” said Altaf, himself a lawyer.

This is the second time in less than two years that Altaf has been sacked from the PCB. Former PCB chief Nasim Ashraf sacked him for allegedly leaking confidential reports to the media. However, Altaf decided to sue Ashraf and was later reinstated following a court verdict that went in his favour.

Sources in the PCB said that this time, however, Altaf is unlikely to earn a reprieve as his termination letter has been signed by the PCB governing board members.

“Saleem Altaf has been relieved of his duties in a unanimous decision by the governing board,” the PCB said in a statement.

Altaf, 65, played 21 Tests for Pakistan between 1967 and 1978, was appointed to the position when Butt took over as PCB chairman last October.

He was first appointed manager of the Pakistan team to India in early 2005 before taking the post of director in the PCB. The then PCB chairman Shaharyar Khan also sidelined Altaf and appointed him director special projects to look after matters relating to the World Cup 2011.

Altaf is the third former Test cricketer to lose his job with the PCB in the last three months.

Earlier Abdul Qadir, a former Test leg spinner, stepped down as the national chief selector after falling out with the PCB chairman Ijaz Butt in June this year. He was followed by Aamer Sohail, former Pakistan captain, who resigned as Director Game Development of the PCB. Javed Miandad, PCB’s director-general, also resigned from the post but later rejoined the board.