Former Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman Zaka Ashraf along with Supreme Court lawyer Mustafa Ramday have been nominated by the country’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Tuesday to join the PCB’s Board of Governors (BoG).
The development comes after interim PCB Management Committee chairman Najam Sethi withdrew from the race to become the board’s next chief. The move is being seen as a crucial step for Ashraf as it brings him more closer to regain the chairmanship of the PCB.
Announcing his withdrawal on Twitter, Sethi said: “I don’t want to be a bone of contention between Asif Zardari and Shehbaz Sharif. Such instability and uncertainty are not good for PCB. Under the circumstances, I am not a candidate for the Chairmanship of PCB. Good luck to all stakeholders.”
As per reports, Sethi and Ashraf have a history of competing for the PCB’s leadership as in 2013 and 2014, the duo were embroiled in a protracted legal battle over the post.
Notably in Pakistan cricket, the Prime Minister’s appointment to the PCB board of governors is usually the person who also serves as the board chairman for a three-year term and after this development, Ashraf is clear favourite to be elected to the top post in the board.
The two nominations by the country’s PM would now complete the 10-member BoG with the remaining eight members of the body almost decided with four representatives each from regions and departments.
The body will now vote and elect the PCB’s next chairman, marking the end to the tenure of the board’s interim Management Committee, which took charge in December last year after the ouster of former chief Ramiz Raja to revoke the 2019 constitution of the board and replace it with the 2014 charter, according to a report in Pakistan’s leading daily Dawn.