Pakistan New PCB Chairman Selection

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) witnessed a major reshuffle as the federal government formed a new management committee and appointed Zaka Ashraf as its Chairman. The committee, consisting of 10 members, has been established for a four-month term. 

Furthermore, Mahmood Iqbal has been appointed as the new chief election commissioner, replacing Ahmed Shehzad Farooq Rana. The committee’s inaugural meeting is scheduled in Lahore on Thursday. The members of the committee include Zaka Ashraf (Chairman), Kaleem Ullah Khan, Ashfaq Akhtar, Musaddiq Islam, Azmat Parvez, Zaheer Abbas, Khurram Karim Somroo, Khuwaja Nadeem, Mustafa Ramday, and Zulfiqar Malik.

Previously, the Lahore High Court (LHC) had imposed a stay order on the election for the PCB chairman, which was subsequently lifted on Monday. Initially slated for June 27 at the PCB headquarters in Lahore, the elections had to be postponed due to hold orders issued by various courts, including the Balochistan High Court. On June 27, the LHC stayed the election following suspending the Board of Governors’ notification. 

The court has issued notices to the federal government, the cricket board’s election commissioner, and other relevant parties. Malik Zulifqar, in his petition, argued that Chief Election Commissioner Shahzad Farooq Rana had made unauthorized changes to the list of the Board of Governors, which the interim management committee had finalized on June 20. The petitioner deemed this action illegal.

According to the sources, Zaka Ashraf is very close to one of the strong politicians of Pakistan, and his selection is made on behalf of that powerful person. Earlier, Najam Sethi, the former Chairman, stated in his tweet that he wants to avoid becoming the bone of Contention between the Prime Minister and the leader of a Political Party. He sidelined himself from the chairmanship of PCB. 

Zaka Ashraf was the Chairman of PCB from 2011 to 2014. During his tenure the famous Pakistan tour of India took place. It was the last time both arch-rivals faced each other in a bilateral series. The result of that series was the T20Is were 1-1, and Pakistan won the ODI series by 2-1. Fans are hopeful that there may be a bilateral series between Pakistan and India in his new era as the Chairman of PCB.