Sethi decides not to contest PCB chairman elections

Election commissioner and caretaker chairman to be appointed in seven days.

LAHORE: Incumbent Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman Najam Sethi, while talking to The Express Tribune, reiterated his stance of not contesting as chairman in the upcoming PCB elections. 

“Throughout my tenure I had stated that I would not stay in power unnecessarily, now the time is rife to vacate the chair since I have already taken the needful measures to put Pakistan cricket back on the right path,” Sethi said.

The Supreme Court (SC) Lahore registry has given the green signal for the promulgation of the new Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) constitution, and has ordered elections for the chairman of the body.

Subsequently, Sethi will stay in office for another seven days, after which an election commissioner and caretaker chairman will stay in power till the election of the new chairman.

“I will continue to play a part in the management through a powerful board of governors which will ensure transparency in cricketing affairs, and will also act as a watchdog on the new chairman,” he added.

The Patron of the PCB, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, is expected to announce the caretaker chairman within a week.

Sethi clarified that the new chairman will replace him in the International Cricket Council (ICC)’s Executive Committee —Pakistan is one of the five members of the EXCOM.

Sethi also claimed that the new constitution will ensure accountability of the chairman, and the head of the body will no longer be allowed to dictate his views and policies on the rest of the board.

“The new board of governors is going to be very strong, if the chairman doesn’t act in accordance with the interests of Pakistan cricket he can be ousted through a simple majority vote” Sethi said.

Meanwhile, former Chairman Zaka Ashraf -- who was involved in a power tussle with Sethi for more than a year -- now stands ousted after the SC judgement which annulled the decision of the Islamabad High Court (IHC) that had reinstated Ashraf earlier in the year.

Ashraf is also not in the reckoning for the elections of the new chairman since he is not a part of the governors’ board, which includes four members from the top four regional teams and four members from the top four departmental teams.

Sharif has nominated two other members of the board, and Sethi is one of them.