LAHORE: Dual roles held by national-team coaches Mickey Arthur and Azhar Mahmood have come under the spotlight, following recent cases of high-profile names having to give up roles in the Pakistan Super League (PSL). Arthur, Pakistan’s head coach, and Azhar, the bowling coach, are both also coaches with Karachi Kings in the PSL, which has raised questions about potential conflicts of interest.
Last month, the PCB removed chief selector Inzamam-ul-Haq from the PSL player draft committee because of a potential conflict of interest since he was involved with a talent-hunt programme run by one of the tournament’s franchises, Lahore Qalandars. Tauseef Ahmed, who is also part of the national selection committee while also being Islamabad United’s spin coach, was also left out of the PSL draft committee.
Ehsan Mani, the PCB’s new chairman, has said he will look into other cases of conflict of interest on a “case-by-case” basis.
“That is certainly something I will look at,” Mani told ESPNcricinfo. “I know commitments have already been made and contracts have already been signed so you can’t enter and break them overnight. But if there is a conflict of interest that effects Pakistan cricket, of course, I will get into it.
“[The PCB removed Inzamam from the PSL draft-selection process because that created a conflict of interest. If he is there with the franchise then he can’t be choosing the players and that made logical sense. In terms of him [Arthur] and others involved with PSL franchises we will look case by case on merit basis and will raise [the issue] with them and consult with people concerned.”
ESPNcricinfo understands that Arthur has no vote in picking Pakistan’s squads, though the selectors take his inputs on board, but he does have a vote in selecting the final playing XI.
In 2016, Arthur was already Karachi Kings’ head coach when he took over the Pakistan role shortly after Waqar Younis’ resignation.
Arthur, with then PCB chairman Shaharyar Khan, had negotiated a contract to allow both roles, foregoing his monthly PCB retainer during the duration of the PSL. When he renewed his contract as Pakistan coach until the 2019 World Cup, this agreement remained intact. Arthur has coached Karachi Kings in all three seasons of the PSL so far and is set to do so again in the fourth edition in 2019.
Speaking to ESPNcricinfo in 2016, Mani had questioned the decision to allow him to continue in both roles.
“I do not believe that the national coach should be involved with any domestic team,” he had said. “This creates a conflict of interest. Unfortunately, it is also a reflection of the governance standards of the PCB.”
Arthur has brushed away any suggestions that his dual roles could be a problem.
“I see absolutely no conflict at all and in fact see it as a massive benefit because it allows me to see all the best young talent available,” Arthur told ESPNcricinfo in 2016. “I certainly am professional enough not to in any way be biased in selections or opinions on any player because at the end of the day I am here to assist Pakistan cricket and make Pakistan cricket the best and I am not going to jeopardise that in any way.”
Other than cricket affairs, Mani has also removed Shakeel Sheikh from an advisory post created by the previous chairman Najam Sethi. Sheikh was the powerful former PCB governing board member representing the Islamabad region, and had taken on the role of advisor on domestic cricket and grounds upon the completion of his term last year. The role switch put him in a potential conflict of interest, and he was thought to be allotting a disproportionate number of matches to the Diamond Cricket Club ground in the Islamabad region.
Sheikh was considered the most powerful non-cricketer individual running domestic cricket affairs. Mani has dissolved all the committees formed during Sethi’s tenure, citing conflict of interest as a major issue in all of them.
