Killing talent: ‘Govt used PCB top slot for rewarding cronies’

Chairmanship awarded to Najam Sethi resulted in a collapse of cricket.

ISLAMABAD:

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan on Wednesday said successive governments have used the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) top slot as a means of rewarding cronies.

He said the latest chairmanship was awarded to Najam Sethi, a man with no cricketing or any sporting credentials, as a reward for politically aiding the ruling party.

The result has been a complete collapse of cricket in Pakistan despite the enormous talent that exists, Imran said.

He called for institutionalised regional bodies electing their office-bearers as well as the chairman of Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB).

Imran felt the PCB should make policy decisions while cricketing affairs should be managed full time by a professional chairman through a clear institutionalised cricketing set up. This is how it happens all over the world, Imran pointed out.

He urged the government for proper institutionalised restructuring of national cricket so that genuine clubs can flourish and identify national talent to give it proper opportunity.

In his statement issued on Wednesday, he said that “fraudulent ghost clubs existing only on paper have been encouraged—while there has been no facilitation of genuine clubs, no support for administrative infrastructure and genuine elections at all a level.”

Published in The Express Tribune, November 14^th, 2013.