News Desk |
The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has been gripped with turmoil as majority of its Board of Governors (BoG) have presented a resolution that rejected the appointment of Wasim Khan as Managing Director PCB as “unconstitutional”.
Media reports reveal that five out seven members of BoG have put forward a written resolution that demands the appointment of Wasim Khan to be “declared null and void”. The resolution, which was later circulated on various media channels, stated “Appointment of managing director (Wasim Khan) along with the creation of the unconstitutional post of MD PCB is hereby declared null and void.” This resolution was put forward by five board members, named Numan Butt, Shahrez Abdullah Khan, Kabir Ahmed Khan, Shah Dost, and Ayaz Butt.
PCB Chairman stated, “No one should harbor the misconception that this process of improving Pakistan’s cricket can be derailed.
The resolution further rejected “any move to abolish departments and regions in the restructuring of domestic cricket” and termed it “unacceptable”. The resolution states members of the PCB Board of Governors have called for the establishment of a Domestic Cricket Restructuring Committee (DCRC) within the next ten days. The five Board of Governors have further added that this DCRC committee must include all four members that represent four regions to ensure “a departmental representation”.
The DCRC has been demanded to draw up proposals for domestic restructuring, which need to be presented at a special meeting convened by the Board of Directors on 30th April, in Lahore. The resolution also stated that “constitution of PCB shall be amended in the light of recommendations of the DCRC.” Geo News reported that the statement added, “The BoG shall defer all the agenda items as circulated for 53rd meeting of BoG till a special BoG meeting is held and the recommendations/proposals of the DCRC are approved and ratified,” it added.
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PCB Chairman “Hugely Disappointed”
Pakistan Cricket Board issued an official press release to announce that its 53rd meeting of the Board of Governors was adjourned because five members were “attempting to table a resolution, which was not part of the agenda”. The official press release stated, “The meeting was then adjourned for a brief period pursuant to five members attempting to table a resolution, which was not part of the agenda.
The PCB Chairman had proposed any business other than the agenda could be considered under Any Other Items at the end of the meeting.” However, the press release noted that four regional representatives and the Khan Research Laboratory (KRL) “refused” to return to finish the meeting. Commenting on the debacle, Mr. Ehsan Mani, Chairman PCB, expressed his disappointment, “I am hugely disappointed by today’s events as I was looking forward to an interactive, productive and constructive discussion, which was aimed at taking Pakistan cricket forward.”
This resolution was put forward by five board members, named Numan Butt, Shahrez Abdullah Khan, Kabir Ahmed Khan, Shah Dost, and Ayaz Butt.
“Yesterday, we called on the honorable Chief Minister of Balochistan and engaged in fruitful and enlightening discussions to promote cricket in Balochistan. It is, therefore, particularly disappointing that the representative from Balochistan also refused to return for the BoG meeting.” The PCB Chairman stressed that the future of Pakistan’s cricket must be the foremost priority of the board of governors, and its progress must not get “derailed by personal agendas”. He stressed, “We reaffirm our commitment to doing what is right for Pakistan cricket and once again becoming a strong force in the world game, and must not get derailed by personal agendas.”
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Pakistan Cricket Cannot be derailed for “Personal Agendas”: PCB Chairman Ehsan Mani
Later, PCB Chairman Ehsan Mani addressed the media in Quetta, and stated that the demands put forward by the five BoG members were “completely unreasonable” and stressed that their previous recommendations had all been approved but they have “changed their position” today. He stated, “We will look at what they want. There are no two ways about this, we need to fix Pakistani cricket.”
The PCB Chairman expressed grave disappointment over the opposition of Shah Dost, who hails from Quetta and was also present at PCB’s meeting with CM Balochistan. “His (Shah Dost’s) opposition was especially disappointing despite the great strides we had made over strengthening cricket in Balochistan in the meeting held with the CM”. PCB Chairman stated, “No one should harbor the misconception that this process of improving Pakistan’s cricket can be derailed.
The official press release stated, “The meeting was then adjourned for a brief period pursuant to five members attempting to table a resolution, which was not part of the agenda.
We will make changes that will promote cricket, and we urge everyone to keep the future of Pakistan cricket above all personal agendas.” He also added that the four out of the five board of governors who signed this resolution had previously approved these changes. In response to a question on why PCB would require his services if a Managing Director is added to the team, Ehsan Mani responded, “There are 12 cricket boards in the world, can you name one board that doesn’t have a chief executive or managing director? None other than Pakistan.”
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PCB Chairman Ehsan Mani stated that the appointment of Wasim Khan or the post of Managing Director is “not a constitutional matter” and the leadership will take note of the resolution put forward and the board will make its decision but maintained that “no one can hijack a meeting in this manner”. He added that the new structure, which will ensure that players from 6 provinces and the structure will be strengthened without being altered. He stated, “Only difference is that the personal interests of people will be eliminated.”