Former Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman Zaka Ashraf and Supreme Court advocate Mustafa Ramday were approved as members of the cricket body’s Board of Governors (BoG) on Tuesday.
According to a press release issued by the PCB, the body’s interim Management Committee met today under Najam Sethi’s chairmanship at Lahore’s Gaddafi Stadium and approved the board’s members.
Apart from the two, the other board members are the four regional representatives from Peshawar, Lahore, Karachi and Rawalpindi, and four representatives from departments/service organisations: Sui Northern Gas Pipeline Limited, Sui Southern Gas Company, Water and Power Development Authority and Khan Research Laboratory.
“Upon the notification of the BoG members, the Management Committee shall stand dissolved and the PCB election commissioner shall assume the powers of the chairman till the elections are held,” the press release reads.
Later, a notification and a letter, available with Dawn.com, from the Ministry of Inter-Provincial Coordination said that the interim Management Committee’s extended tenure stood completed and thus the body stood dissolved, ceasing to operate.
The documents said that the cricket body’s affairs were now handed over to PCB Election Commissioner Ahmed Shehzad Farooq Rana.
Sethi pulls out of race for PCB chief
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif earlier today nominated Ashraf and Ramday for their appointment as BoG members.
The development came a day after Sethi, the PCB interim Management Committee chairman, pulled out of the race to become the board’s next chief.
In a notification issued by the Prime Minister’s Office today, the premier nominated two names, other than Sethi’s, for PCB’s Board of Governors.
“The prime minister has seen and, in his capacity as patron of the Pakistan Cricket Board and in terms of Article 1011)(d) of the PCB’s Constitution 2014, is pleased to nominate the following for appointment as Members on Board of Governors of PCB — Muhammad Zaka Ashraf and Mustafa Ramday,” the notification, a copy of which is available with Dawn.com, reads.
The government’s notification recognised Ashraf and Ramday as former PCB chief and advocate Supreme Court, respectively.
According to a Dawn report, the two nominations would complete the 10-member BoG with the remaining eight members of the body almost decided — four representatives each from regions and departments.
The body will vote for the election of the PCB’s new chairman and put an 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.
Until late on Monday night, Sethi was touted to be the PM’s pick, before the 75-year-old announced his withdrawal from the mix.
“Salaam everyone! I don’t want to be a bone of contention between Asif Zardari and Shehbaz Sharif,” Sethi wrote on Twitter.
“Such instability and uncertainty is not good for PCB. Under the circumstances, I am not a candidate for chairmanship of PCB. Good luck to all stakeholders,” he added.