Johannesburg, Dec 11 (IANS): Former South African captain Graeme Smith has been appointed Cricket South Africa's director of cricket on an interim basis. CSA acting CEO Jacques Faul said on Wednesday that Smith will remain in the role till the Indian Premier League (IPL) next year.

"I've publicly stated a number of times that I would love to assist CSA in this difficult time, particularly in developing this new role of Director of Cricket. I'm still as passionate about South African cricket as I ever was and I'm looking forward to getting stuck into the role," Smith is quoted as saying by the CSA.

Smith has been on the CSA radar for some time now with the 38-year-old last month stating that he had withdrawn his interest for the role. "Obviously, Graeme has had his concerns during the course of the last few months, but I am pleased to say that we have overcome those concerns and I look forward to working with him to urgently address pressing cricketing matters in particular."

"Graeme is statistically the most successful Test captain in the history of the game," said Faul.