Pakistan Cricket Board’s new chairman Zaka Ashraf will take charge from Monday after being released from his position as the head of ZTBL this week. Reports coming from close quarters of Ashraf said now that he has been released from his duties as bank head, he would start attending to his PCB office from Monday. “He will finally sit in the Board from Monday although it has been a week since the government issued the notification confirming his appointment as PCB chief,” one source said.
The source indicated that Ashraf, who is also an active member of the Pakistan Peoples Party and also a successful businessman, was not happy with the fact that no one from the Board had tried to contact him or get in touch with him. “Zaka is very particular about protocol and he is disappointed that no one from the board has tried to contact him or tried to find out when would he take charge,” the source added. Sources in the board said that some aides of Ashraf from the bank had paid unofficial visits to the PCB offices at the Gaddafi Stadium and the National Stadium in Karachi to have a look at the offices of the chairman. The biggest challenge facing Ashraf is the issue of discarded senior players as not only has Shahid Afridi taken back his retirement but the Sindh High Court has also reserved its judgement on the petition filed by Danish Kaneria against the PCB’s refusal to consider him for international selection.
“In the case of Danish, the court should announce its decision within two or three days, around the same time Zaka Ashraf takes charge,” one source noted. Ashraf’s predecessor, Ijaz Butt kept the players on a tight leash unwilling to make any compromises over discipline for them and this led to constant tussles between the PCB and senior players. A source close to Ashraf said the new PCB chief was the sort of man who didn’t like controversies and getting involved in them. “He is very particular about protocol and about his image in the media,” the source added.
