The Pakistan Cricket Board on Monday appointed former ICC chief financial officer Faisal Hasnain as its new chief executive. He will assume the charge in January 2022.

Hasnain, 62, replaces the post left vacant by Wasim Khan, who stepped down in September, following the appointment of Ramiz Raja as the board’s new chairman.

“Faisal is the UK qualified chartered accountant and has had a professional career of over 35 years in high-profile finance and sports administration roles with some of the world’s leading blue-chip organisations. This includes his role in Monaco and Dubai as the ICC chief financial officer and as the Zimbabwe Cricket managing director,” read a statement issued by the PCB.

The PCB said that Hasnain was appointed after a “robust recruitment process.”

PCB Chairman Ramiz Raja said: “I am delighted to confirm the appointment of Faisal Hasnain as the PCB’s Chief Executive and welcome him to Pakistan cricket family.”

The PCB chairman added that Hasnain was a familiar figure in world cricket and was “highly regarded” for his excellence in corporate governance, financial management and commercial acumen.

“With the plans, I have for the PCB, Faisal will be a perfect fit as he can utilise his vast experience and knowledge to help us achieve our commercial and financial objectives of making Pakistan cricket bigger and stronger,” Raja said.

On the announcement, Hasnain said: “I feel honoured and privileged to have been awarded with this once in a lifetime opportunity to serve Pakistan cricket and thank the PCB chairman and the Board of Governors for having the confidence in my capabilities.”

Hasnain added that he was committed to playing his part in delivering the chairman’s vision for cricket, fulfilling the expectations of fans, and strengthening the relationships with partners.

“These are highly exciting times in Pakistan cricket and I look forward to working very closely with my colleagues at the PCB so that we can collectively further enhance the image, reputation and profile of this great institution,” he said.

As the ICC’s CFO, the PCB statement read Faisal managed an overall financial portfolio of “around $3billion” and was also involved in the sale of the ICC’s commercial rights for the 2007-2015 and the 2016-2023 commercial cycles. “With the Zimbabwe Cricket, he was instrumental in the refinancing of their commercial debts, arriving at the financial arrangements between ZC and the ICC, securing ZC’s funding and status within the ICC and securing hosting rights for the ICC Cricket World Cup Qualifier 2018 – Zimbabwe’s first global event in 15 years.”