Written by Vaibhav Tripathi
Shahbaz Sharif, the Pakistan Prime Minister, will announce two recommendations for the position of Chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) on Tuesday, June 20. Sharif, who is currently serving as the acting head of the PCB, will propose the names of Zaka Ashraf, a former chairman of the board, and Mustafa Ramday, a prominent Supreme Court lawyer.
Typically, the Prime Minister’s decision holds significant weight in appointing the Chairman of the PCB. Najam Sethi, the current Chairman of the PCB Management Committee, clarified in a tweet on Tuesday that he was not competing for the Chairman position. Sethi expressed his desire to avoid becoming a point of dispute between the Prime Minister and Asif Ali Zardari, the co-chairman of the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP).
Ehsanul Haq Mazari, the Federal Minister for Inter-Provincial Coordination (IPC), reiterated in a television appearance that Ashraf, backed by the PPP leadership, would assume the role of PCB Chairman. Mazari emphasized that Sethi’s mandate as the head of the interim management committee was solely to oversee fair departmental elections in several cricket regions.
“Najam Sethi was brought in temporarily to lead the interim management committee, with a specific mandate to conduct elections only in the cricket regions,” said Mazari. The PPP maintains that as their Minister for Inter-Provincial Coordination Division heads the PCB and the ministry has an affiliation with the board, the party should have the authority to appoint its Chairman.