Mohsin expected to be back as chief selector: Sources

Lahore: The chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board, Zaka Ashraf, has confirmed that interim coach Mohsin Khan will be given another assignment after the series against England.

Ashraf didn`t elaborate on what role was being contemplated by the board for Mohsin, but well-informed sources in the PCB revealed that the former Test cricketer will be reappointed as the chief selector. Mohsin occupied the chair until Waqar Younis resigned as national team coach last September because of personal and health reasons. The move forced PCB to relieve Mohsin from his duties as chief selector and he was asked take over as interim coach until the board appointed a fulltime coach. Mohsin has now put the PCB in a dicey situation after guiding Pakistan to successive Test series wins over Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and England. But Ashraf said as far as he was concerned, the 3-0 whitewash of England was not the ultimate cricket glory for Pakistan. "There are bigger targets to achieve. I want to see the team become world champions. And for that we need to have foreign or local qualified coaches in every department," he said. Ashraf told reporters that he had left it up to the coaching committee of the board to recommend the best possible choices for the respective positions. "No doubt the team has achieved tremendous success under Mohsin," said Ashraf. "But we need a qualified coach. Our target is the World Cup for which we want to bring a qualified head coach." Australian Dav Whtamore is seen as the successor to Mohsin and will be in Lahore later this month to sign an agreement with the board. However, the board is facing criticism and resistance from some quarters over its impending decision to change Mohsin as coach. "I don`t see any reason for changing a winning combination. Mohsin and Misbah have formed a great team they have gelled the players together and we are winning. So what is the problem, why change the coach," asked former fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar. Mohsin has found lot of support from former players who want him to continue as coach on long term basis. "What I feel is that there is definitely some responsible role for Mohsin with the team even if the board wants to appoint a foreign coach. He can be made manager or planner or whatever," former captain Rashid Latif said. Ashraf said while he was pleased with the way the boys had performed and said credit for this went to the entire squad particularly the captain, Misbah-ul-Haq, but he wanted to see Pakistan team climb greater heights and be more consistent. "We need to build a team that can go on overseas tours and win consistently and also the World Cup," he insisted. PTI