Shahid Afridi to continue as chief selector, Arthur to decide on coach job later

Former Pakistan captain Shahid Afridi is set to continue as the chief selector from his current interim position, while Mickey Arthur is set to take a call on his return as the men's team head coach later in the month, according to a report by PTI.

Afridi, who is currently heading the selection committee consisting Abdul Razzaq, Rao Iftikhar and Haroon Rasheed, had picked the squad for the ongoing home series against New Zealand.

"Shahid has had talks with PCB Chairman Najam Sethi who had initially convinced him to work as interim chief selector but now discussions have taken place on the possibility of the former captain continuing in the role given that this year Pakistan has two major events — the 50-overs Asia Cup and the World Cup in India," a source within PCB told PTI on Sunday.

The changes were imminent after Ramiz Raja was sacked as the PCB chairman and Najam Sethi was appointed as his replacement. The PCB constitution amendments after 2019 were scrapped, so were all the committees since then. Sarfaraz Ahmed was brought back into the playing XI as the keeper-batter for the two Tests while Shan Masood was named as the vice-captain for the ODI series beginning on Monday.

"Strong possibility that Shahid will be persuaded to continue and chalk out a schedule where he can also give time to his foundation work," the source said.

Arthur, who previously served as the head coach from 2016 to 2019, is currently contracted with English county Derbyshire and has ample time to respond. Pakistan don't have any international matches scheduled until April after the New Zealand series ending on January 14.

"Arthur, who currently has a long contract with Derbyshire county, has asked for some time to consider his options and position and has said he will get back later this month with a solid answer," another source told PTI.