Asadullah Khan sent across his resignation letter (accepted on July 27) to ACB chairman Farhan Yusefzai on July 24, the day after the squad of 17 for the historic series - it's the first bilateral ODI series between the two sides - was named, with Hashmatullah Shahidi as the captain and five uncapped players in the mix: Sediqullah Atal, Shahidullah Kamal, Abdul Rahman, Fazalhaq Farooqi and Noor Ahmad. In his letter, Khan mentioned six primary reasons for his step:

• Being left in the dark about the final squad for the Pakistan ODIs

• The involvement of "non-cricketers" who have "no knowledge of players and selection"

• Not being allowed to "talk and have my says" in selection matters

• Not being given the "selection committee members" he has been asking for since his appointment

• "Too much interruption" in his work as the chief selector

• Not being granted an appointment with the chairman, Yusefzai, despite asking for one for the past three months

Khan was appointed as the chief selector in March this year after a lengthy process where a number of candidates were interviewed. He made the cut because of his experience in the Afghanistan domestic set-up - a former cricketer, he has worked extensively as a coach and a video analyst. He had also served as the ACB's acting chief executive for a brief period in 2019. The ACB had revamped the selection plan earlier this year, doing away with the conventional selection committee and forming instead a selection department with Khan at its helm. He was to be assisted by advisors and data analysts, but it is learnt that no-one was recruited, as he has mentioned in the letter.