Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Chairman Shahryar Mohammad Khan resigned on Friday night, putting Pakistan's cricket in turmoil, the local newspaper Daily Times reported on Saturday.

Shahryar, who was appointed cricket board chief in December 2003, was under fire in the national media following Oval Test fiasco in August.

His resignation came just one day after batsman Younis Khan refused to captain Pakistan in the International Cricket Commission (ICC) Champions Trophy starting in India on Saturday.

Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf, who is also patron of the board, has appointed Nasim Ashraf, a member of the ad hoc committee, as the ninth chief of the PCB.

Shahryar was very upset after the England tour and particularly due to divisions among the players. His tenure was to end in December 2006, but he deemed it appropriate to step down three months before and pass the responsibility on to someone else.

Shahryar said that the Younis episode, which followed the Oval Test controversy in England, had contributed to his decision.

"These two incidents were very upsetting for me and spoiled an otherwise productive period for me. My tenure was until December 2006 so I decided to go now. Since the World Cup is just five months away, I wanted to give time to the new chairman to adjust before the tournament," Shahryar said.

Shahryar, a former diplomat, was named PCB chairman when Tauqir Zia resigned after four years in the job. Shahryar also served as Pakistani team's manager during the 2003 World Cup but after the tournament he was relieved of his responsibilities by Tauqir.

Source: Xinhua