PCB chief selector Qadir quits

Pakistan cricket plunged into fresh crisis on Monday with chief selector Abdul Qadir resigning in mysterious circumstances.

The announcement of his resignation came out of the blue and a day after Pakistan was trounced by England in the ICC World Twenty20 tournament.

Incidentally, Pakistan Cricket Board chairman Ejaz Butt wasted no time in accepting Qadir's resignation.

"We don't know the reason for his decision to resign but the chairman, Ejaz Butt, has accepted it," Saleem Altaf, PCB's chief operating officer, said.

Qadir was unavailable for comment as his cell phone was switched off. However, rumours were gathering momentum that the former Test leg-spinner was told to resign or get the boot.

"Butt called him to his office and told him either he should resign or he will be sacked," one source in the PCB said.

Other sources said the reason for Butt's sudden decision to get rid of Qadir might have something to do with rumours of corruption in the selection of the national team and Pakistan A squad for Australia.

But no board official, including Altaf, was willing to comment on the rumours.

"We only know he decided to resign; that is all. We are as blank as everyone else why he decided to resign," Altaf said.

Speculation was rife that Qadir faced a lot of scrutiny from the board over his insistence on selecting some players in the national and A sides.

Incidentally, even during the tenure of the last selection committee, headed by Salahuddin Ahmed, a member of his selection committee was accused by a Pakistan player of indulging in corruption.

Sources said Butt had asked Salahuddin to take action against the selector but the chief selector deemed it fit to resign himself in defence of his selector.

There were also reports about serious differences that Qadir has developed with captain Younis Khan and coach Intikhab Alam in recent weeks which even led to arguments between them.

Qadir also had differences with former player Aamer Sohail, who is director, game development in the board, and Ejaz Butt over the selection of the Pakistan A team for Australia.

The board started paying monthly salaries to the national selectors since last year and Qadir was paid around Rs 250,000 a month besides other perks.

Interestingly, the PCB has now also asked former opener Shoaib Mohammad to choose between his job as national selector or his position with the Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) where he is manager sports.