Inzamam-ul-Haq set to take over as Pakistan team chief selector?

Former Test captain Inzamam-ul-Haq is set to take over as Pakistan team chief selector even as director Mickey Arthur and head coach Grant Bradburn will know by next week whether they will remain part of the national selection committee.

A source in the Pakistan Cricket Board confirmed that Inzamam has given his consent to becoming a paid chief selector again after he held the position between 2016 and 2019.

“The Cricket Technical Committee members including Misbah ul Haq, Inzamam and Muhammad Hafeez have been discussing the new selection committee and it is yet to be decided whether Arthur and Bradburn should remain members on it,” the source told PTI.

He said Misbah would make his recommendation to the board chairman Zaka Ashraf after taking point of view of captain Babar Azam on whether the experiment of having the team director and head coach on the selection panel has been beneficial for the team.

“Once Babar’s views are taken, the Cricket Technical Committee will also finalize its recommendation for the Chairman.” The decision to be made is whether only Inzamam takes over as the new chief selector or the entire selection committee be revamped.

During the tenure of Najam Sethi as head of Cricket Management Committee (CMC), a new look selection committee was announced and included Arthur and Bradburn and also a secretary Hasan Cheema who is dealing with data analysts for the Pakistan team.

No other former Pakistani player was named on the committee which was headed by Haroon Rasheed who was part of the old CMC.

The source said next week would be important because if Arthur and Bradburn are removed from the selection process, they might not be happy as they accepted coaching positions only after getting firm assurances from Sethi that they would have a say in selection matters.

Arthur is yet to physically join the team as he has been busy with his coaching assignment with Derbyshire but he is scheduled to take charge of the team in the latter part of the Asia Cup and will be available for the World Cup in India and tour to Australia later in the year.

Inzamam has worked with Arthur during his previous tenure that included the 2017 Champions Trophy triumph and the 2019 World Cup.