Thaindian News

Karachi, May 4 (IANS) The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has summoned chief selector Mohsin Khan to its headquarters in Lahore Thursday after he threatened to resign over a selection controversy.

Mohsin, a former Pakistan Test opener, threatened to quit at a press conference here Wednesday expressing ‘reservations’ over the selection of a 15-man squad for this month’s Test series against the West Indies.

But the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) first barred him from talking to the media and later on Wednesday afternoon summoned him for a meeting with the Board’s ‘top management’ on Thursday.

“Further to the statement released earlier today (Wednesday) on the media reports about Chairman Selection Committee Mr. Mohsin Hasan Khan holding a press conference, Mr. Khan has been asked to meet PCB management tomorrow (Thursday) at PCB head office in Lahore. The management will meet with him to discuss the issues if any,” said a statement issued by the PCB.

In another statement issued a few hours earlier, the board said: “The selection process for the national squad is that the selection committee picks the team, which is then sent to Chairman PCB for his approval. This is mandatory. If required, the Chairman PCB consults the chairman of selection committee on the selected squad and after due deliberation the squad is approved and announced.

“National Selection Committee and Tour Selection Committee are two independent bodies and though, at times, they seek mutual input but in no case one can interfere in the matters of the other.

“Following the submission of Test Squad for the West Indies’ tour for which the process stated in Para 2 above was duly followed, Mr. Khan was requested to come to PCB headquarters and explain his views to the Chairman PCB if required. He could not come due to illness of his wife. Now according to media reports he is holding a press conference today (Wednesday) without prior permission of PCB. This would be a violation of Code of Conduct and would be unfortunate.”

Mohsin threatened to quit if the PCB did not address his grievances.

“I have some reservations,” Mohsin was quoted as saying in the media. “I have informed the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) about them and have asked it to let me know whether they are making changes or not. I will resign if they are not replaced by Wednesday afternoon,” he added.

The 15-man squad announced for the Test series against the West Indies has ignited a lot of criticism from various quarters. The selection of rookie stumper Muhammad Salman ahead of Adnan Akmal has raised a few eyebrows. Adnan, the younger brother of discarded Test wicketkeeper Kamran Akmal, did a good job in the series against South Africa and New Zealand and was expected to retain his place in the Test squad.

If he quits, Mohsin will be the fourth man to resign as Pakistan’s chief selector since Ijaz Butt took over as chairman of the PCB back in 2008. Before him Salahuddin Ahmed, Abdul Qadir and Iqbal Qasim had quit from the post mainly due to their differences with the PCB.