Zaka Ashraf is going to take over as head of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) once again. Ashraf, who was in charge of the PCB from 2011 to 2013, is now in the running for the top sports job in Pakistan after the government coalition that runs the country changed. Najam Sethi was the head of the PCB until Monday, June 19. He is no longer there, at least for now.
Ashraf, an investor with a lot of connections, was put on the PCB by the country’s Prime Minister on Tuesday. “The Prime Minister, in his role as Patron of the Pakistan Cricket Board and in accordance with Article 10 (1) (d) of the PCB’s 2014 constitution, is pleased to propose the following individuals for appointment as Members of the Board of Governors of PCB,” says the official appointment communique.
Mustafa Ramday, a lawyer for the Supreme Court, is the second person to be chosen. PCB rules say that the newly chosen people become part of a 10-person Board of Governors, which then chooses the chairman. Since one of the parties in the ruling alliance backs Ashraf, many people are looking forward to him becoming chairman.
“In the end, it all depends on God. When asked about Ashraf’s chances of becoming PCB Chairman, a person close to him said, “We hope things will go well.”
The election is likely to happen in about a week.
The Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), which is part of the ruling coalition and is led by Asif Ali Zardari Bhutto, asked for the PCB post since they were in charge of the sports ministry. This led to a change in PCB leadership. Sethi, the leader who is leaving, was a member of the Pakistan Muslim League (PML-N), the other party in the partnership. Observers say that the PPP has more power in sports matters, which means that the PML-N has no choice but to do what the alliance wants.
Sethi was first hired in December 2022 for four months. His sentence was made two months longer, and it finished on Monday. Sethi stepped down because he knew that the political situation in the country was very unstable.
“Salaam everyone! I don’t want to get in the way of Asif Zardari and Shehbaz Sharif’s relationship. PCB doesn’t need this kind of instability and insecurity. Under these conditions, I’m not a good choice for Chairman of PCB. “Good luck to everyone,” he said in a post on social media on Monday, when he said he was resigning virtually.
In the last six months, there have been three changes at the PCB. In December, Sethi relieved Ramiz Raja, and now he is replacing Ashraf. But the way things are with Zaka Ashraf might not last too long. Since the country is likely to have elections in October, there could be another change, unless the PPP wins again.
