LAHORE – Newly appointed Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Chairman Mohsin Naqvi wanted the bureaucrats to join the board to improve its functioning and advancement of the game, the sources privy to the development said on Thursday.
Punjab Chief Secretary Zahid Akhtar Zaman and six other government officials were appointed to the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) due to imminent changes expected in the tenure of Prime Minister-designate Anwar ul Haq Kakar.
Zahid Akhtar Zaman has been made member of the Board of Governors.
Initially, PM Kakar had nominated Mohsin Naqvi for the top slot in PCB while Naqvi was serving as the Principal Secretary to the Chief Minister of Punjab.
Subsequently, Naqvi was elected as the head of the PCB on February 6th.
Additionally, Anwar increased his nominees in the PCB Board of Governors from two to three. Anwar had initially nominated two individuals including Mohsin Naqvi and Mustafa Ramday, the nominee for the current Prime Minister.
The inclusion of Zahid Akhtar Zaman has bolstered the ranks of the Prime Minister’s nominees.
A PCB official, while speaking to the local media without revealing his identity, confirmed that certain directives were issued regarding officials but the specific roles within the PCB were yet to be determined.
The PCB representative mentioned that the current PCB Chairman is on leave and is abroad with his family. Upon his return, decisions regarding the employment of these government officials would be made.
It may be mentioned here that the Establishment Division directed the joining of government officials such as Sahil Ashraf, Zain Asim, Abdullah Khurram Niazi, Irtaza Komail and Rafeeullah among others to the PCB.
Lieutenant Colonel (Retired) Sahil Ashraf may be assigned an important position, though it cannot be the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) as it is not included in the PCB’s Constitution.
Either amendments will have to be made to the constitution or a different title will be assigned to the CEO position. The possibility of the dismissal of multiple officers has also increased, causing concern among PCB employees.
On the other hand, some players have expressed serious concerns over inclusion of the government officials in the PCB, saying that their bureaucratic attitudes would ruin the board as well as the game.
