Even before the ICC made it mandatory for member boards to resist government interference in their affairs, the PCB in its amended constitution had inserted a clause under which the board chairman had to be elected instead of being nominated, it was learnt on Sunday.
Reports quoting official sources claim that contrary to the general impression that the board was taken by surprise by the ICC decision, it had already started preparing for this change months back. “The reason the new constitution has still not been approved by the government ministries is because it has a clause that the board chairman will be elected in future instead of being nominated as is the present practice,” one source said.
He said it was because of this clause that when the draft for the revised constitution was sent for approval to the law and sports ministries they objected to it. “Chairman of the board Ijaz Butt and general body members are also in favor of having all elected people in the board,” the source said. Under the present system in Pakistan cricket, the president, who is also chief patron of the board, nominates the person to head the cricket board.
Ijaz Butt is a direct nominee of President Asif Zardari as Dr Nasim Ashraf, Shaharyar Khan and Tauqir Zia were nominees of General Pervez Musharraf before him. “The board’s general body is presently an elected body so there is no reservations that the Chairman should also be elected. And in Pakistan cricket the Chairman also holds the post of chief executive. The positions of chief operating officer, financial officer are all corporate appointments,” another source explained.
He said the reason for the PCB sending a legal notice to the ICC in April against making it mandatory on member boards to revise their constitutions to stop political and government interference in their affairs was because of pressure from the top. “Even now it is not clear what line of action the board will adopt after the ICC ruling. Things will be clear when Ijaz Butt returns home after a month,” the source said.
Chief operating officer, Subhan Ahmed confirmed that the board would be meeting with government functionaries to discuss the new ICC ruling.
