Islamabad, Sep 16 : Former Pakistan captain Intikhab Alam has urged the country's cricket board to appoint a new chairman as soon as possible to salvage the national team's international season.

"It's been almost a month now that the Pakistan Cricket Board is without a chairman, it's absolutely imperative for the president to announce the chairman as soon as possible," Alam said.

Nasim Ashraf stood down as PCB chairman on August 18, hours after the resignation of President Pervez Musharraf, who was also the patron of the PCB.

New President Asif Ali Zardari, now patron of the PCB, is yet to decide on who will replace Ashraf and there has been little speculation on prospective candidates in the domestic media, The News reported.

"Whosoever is appointed, he must have some experience and be a recognizable figure in the cricketing fraternity," Alam advised. "It will save precious time of getting along with the officials of other cricket boards."

Since Ashraf's resignation, the scheduled Champions Trophy limited-overs tournament in Pakistan was postponed for a year due to security fears of some leading cricket nations.

In the absence of a chairman, other board members have been attempting to fill the gap in the country's international cricket schedule.

So far, only a four-way Twenty20 tournament featuring Sri Lanka and minnows Zimbabwe and Canada has been finalized in the second week of October at Toronto.

A proposed triangular limited-overs series including South Africa and Sri Lanka could not be finalized because the South African players were exhausted after touring England. Plans to play a one-day series in Sri Lanka were also shelved because of lack of sponsors interest.

The PCB has now invited the West Indies to play two test matches in November, but the formal request is still being considered by Caribbean officials.

ANI