Previously PCB’s caretaker chairman, Sethi will now lead the interim managing committee after being ‘unanimously elected’ as chairman by the members. PHOTO: AFP/FILE
Cricket in Pakistan cannot shake off controversy – even at the best of times.
As Pakistan stepped up the heat against a top-ranked South Africa in Abu Dhabi in the first Test, back home the country’s already-muddled cricket setup was subjected to yet another jolt of controversy.
In the face of two looming deadlines, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, who is acting as the patron of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), dissolved the body that governs cricket in Pakistan and named an Interim Management Committee (IMC) to run the game’s affairs in the country. The committee comprises Najam Sethi, former cricketers Zaheer Abbas and Haroon Rasheed, former PCB chairman Shahryar Khan and former team manager Naved Cheema.
The move comes just a few days before a meeting of the International Cricket Council (ICC) in London on October 18, which also corresponds with a court-imposed deadline to hold fresh elections in the PCB.
Previously PCB’s caretaker chairman, Sethi will now lead the IMC after being ‘unanimously elected’ as chairman by the members. He will represent Pakistan at the ICC Board meeting in London on October 18 and 19.
Amended and suspended
“The prime minister has been pleased to direct the following: 1. Paragraph Section 41 of the PCB Constitution has been amended and under the said paragraph the Board has been superseded,” said a PCB media release.
“An Interim Management Committee (IMC) has been constituted to ensure that PCB remains enabled to continue to perform day-to-day domestic and international functions for the promotion of the game and in line with the directions of the court.”
“The supersession of the Board shall remain in force for a period of not more than 90 days unless extended by the Patron [Sharif].”
Sethi was named as interim chairman by the prime minister in June to replace Zaka Ashraf who was suspended by the Islamabad High Court (IHC) after a writ petition on his election as PCB chairman.
However, the IHC, through another judgment in July, curtailed Sethi’s power and asked to hold fresh election within 90 days – with October 18 being the deadline. But the PCB was unable to comply due to complications pertaining to elections of regional associations.
Meanwhile, a PCB official said the decision became inevitable due to the prevailing state of affairs – the directions by IHC and a pending intra-court appeal.
“The PCB needed representation in the ICC meeting which was not possible without it as court ordered elections before October 18..
“The IMC members who represent all major cities are former cricketers or administrators and cricket affairs can be run smoothly now.
“This decision is within the parameters of IHC that also ordered an amendment in the constitution.”
Is Sethi powerful now?
Since IHC’s order, Sethi had been complaining of being a powerless head of the board – but this development will end his grievance, according to another official close to the matter.
“Sethi will now have power,” said the official. “Being the caretaker chairman, he hardly could have made any decision but now he can take decisions under the umbrella of day-to-day affairs. It includes appointment/sacking of any team official barring a long-term contract.”
Abbasi fears ICC action
Meanwhile, former PCB chief Arif Abbasi rejected what he termed a ‘new ad hoc’ situation. “The ad hoc imposed in 1997 was continuing and now we have a new ad hoc over it. “It will only compound things as an interim set-up never went well for Pakistan cricket.
“I fear an ICC action as this is government intervention… this is against the directives of the governing body, which wants elected officials to run the cricket boards.”
Published in The Express Tribune, October 16th, 2013.
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Hope this interim committee would select a Sindhi player in the national team. Since the birth of the country not a single Sindhi has been taken in the team.
Good on you Mr. Sethi for putting up the Pak team that defeated the mighty South Africans. Job Well done. Congratulations.
And this is acceptable to the courts? It baffles me why they removed the previous chairman, if not out of hatred, bigotry, and vendetta.
Good to know that Sethi, a cricket legend (and an occasional news host), has all the powers!
another failure of pakistani englishmen! in ir pakistan
Now Sethi will create more mess... Nawaz will also appoint him as interim Chief of Army Staff.
People like Arif Abbassi should be put out to pasture and the media needs to stop going to people like Ariif Abbasi and Rashid Latif, when they are fully aware that both men have an agenda to get a powerful position in the PCB. It is a well known fact, that the history of the cricket board shows that ex players and ex administrators are known to use the media and blackmail tactics to secure positions in the board, when they do not get the positions or get kicked out of those positions due to their incompetence, they go to the media and start attacking the incumbents in the board. People like Arif Abbass, Rashid Latif, Mohsin Khan, Javed Miandad etc have all been guilty of this practice. Its time for the media to stop looking for juicy quotes from people who have scores to settle, and instead ask tough questions of these ex administrators and ex players such as what did they do when they were in power and why is it that they keep looking for jobs in the board all the time?