PCB confirms Zaka Ashraf’s appointment as interim chairman of PCB management committee

Pakistan government announced a 10-member PCB management committee and appointed Zaka Ashraf as its chairman on Thursday, July 6. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif nominated Ashraf to lead a newly-formed committee for the next four months, which also includes former cricketer Zaheer Abbas.

Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) is in turmoil since Najam Sethi’s shocking withdrawal from the election of PCB chairman last month. Upon Sethi’s resignation, Zaka Ashraf emerged as the favorite to become the new chief of Pakistan cricket but the elections for the new chairman were postponed indefinitely upon strong protest from former management committee members.

The new management committee includes Kalim Ullah Khan, Ashafaq Akhtar, Mussadiq Islam, Azmat Parvez, Zaheer Abbas, Khurram Soomro, Khawaja Nadeem, Mustafa Ramday, and Zulfiqar Malik and will oversee all the operations related to Pakistan cricket. PCB also made a big change in the chief election commissioner post with Mahmood Iqbal replacing Ahmed Shehzad Farooq Rana.

PCB election was scheduled to take place on June 27 but many former management committee members filed petitions in various high courts, challenging Ashraf’s potential selection for the chairman post. The high court has now postponed the elections for an indefinite time.

A new board of governors, who votes for a new PCB chairman, will have two members nominated by the Prime Minister, who also serves as patron of PCB. Ashraf was nominated by Shehbaz Sharif and it was enough to earn him the PCB chairman post. 

A legal battle between former members and a new board of governors started after Najam Sethi’s decision to not run for the PCB chairman election. Former committee members, who were part of Sethi’s interim setup, were replaced by new members from smaller cities by Ahmed Shehzad Farooq Rana.

The new management committee, headed by Ashraf, will turn its focus on hosting the upcoming Asia Cup 2023 and will seek final approval from the government for sending its team for the ICC ODI World Cup 2023 in India.

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