ST JOHN’S, Antigua (CMC) — Ramnaresh Sarwan has quit abruptly as a men’s senior selector just five months into his two-and-a-half-year term, leaving Cricket West Indies scrambling to find a replacement.

The former West Indies captain, who also sat on the youth selection panels, was appointed last January and was expected to serve in the role until June 24, but CWI said Monday he had resigned his post “due to personal reasons”.

Robert Haynes, the current chief men’s youth selector, will be the interim replacement for Sarwan until CWI completes the search for a permanent candidate.

“Given the depth of his experience in the game, we are disappointed that Ramnaresh is unable to continue in the role of selector, but we fully understand and accept his reasons,” said director of Cricket, Jimmy Adams.

“We are grateful for his contribution during the period he was involved and hope that he will be able to contribute to West Indies Cricket in some capacity in the future.”

Prior to joining the CWI panel, the 41-year-old Sarwan was chairman of Guyana’s Cricket Board senior selection committee, a role he subsequently quit to avoid any conflict of interests.

Along with men’s chairman of selectors Desmond Haynes and head coach Phil Simmons, Sarwan was expected to oversee the selection of squads for key tournaments like the 2022 and 2024 Twenty20 World Cups and next year’s 50-over World Cup.

Under the new panel’s watch, West Indies beat England 1-0 in a three-Test series in the Caribbean back in March and Sarwan’s last involvement would have come in choosing the One-Day International squads for the ongoing tour of the Netherlands and upcoming series against Pakistan.

CWI said it would proceed quickly with filling the vacant post.

“CWI will initiate a recruitment process for the selector role as soon as possible through a competitive process, based on established criteria,” the board said in a statement.

“The aim will be to complete this process in the shortest possible time so that a suitable candidate can complete the selection panel in carrying out its duties.”

Sarwan, a stylish right-hander, played 81 Tests, scoring 5,842 and 15 centuries, and featured in 181 ODIs, gathering 5,804 runs with five hundreds.