Najam Sethi re-elected as PCB Chairman

LAHORE: The Prime Minister of Pakistan’s direct nominee, Najam Sethi was appointed as PCB’s chairman for the next three years.  Sethi was unanimously elected from within the 10-member BoG as no other member of the BoG filed nomination papers for the post.

Sethi was named on PCB’s BoG on July 8 by Nawaz Sharif, then the PM of Pakistan and the patron-in chief of PCB. Nawaz was later disqualified from office but that did not affect Sethi’s appointment as chairman. Sethi’s only potential competition was Ariff Ejaz, a prominent corporate figure. The chairman has to be elected from the BoG according to PCB’s constitution.

Sethi’s predecessor, Shahryar Khan, aged 83, resigned from his post citing personal and health reasons after a period of three years.  Ejaz will be his replacement on the BoG, with representatives from the Lahore regions, Quetta, Sialkot, FATA, Peshawar, Islamabad and Rawalpindi. Among the other four members, Water and Power Development Authority and United Bank Limited will retain their seats while Habib Bank Limited and Sui Southern Gas Company Limited have replaced Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited and National Bank of Pakistan.

There had been multiple leadership changes in the PCB, after Zaka Ashraf became the first elected PCB chairman in May 2013. During a long fought battle over leadership between Sethi and Ashraf ended in 2014, Sethi was reappointed and sacked several times but he remained on the board’s BoG and head of the Executive Committee (ExCo) to control cricket affairs in Pakistan. In that period, Sethi was involved in the day-to-day functioning of the PCB and became an influential board member with signing authority. Although the PCB did not reveal the ExCo’s functions, it is understood that the committee holds significant influence in the board.

Sethi, a journalist is said to have high-level political affiliations and was one of the main driving forces in organizing the PSL.