Punjab’s caretaker Chief Minister Mohsin Naqvi who is likely to assume hi role as the new Chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has surprised and has shaken things up.
According to the details, Zaka Ashraf encountered significant resistance within the management committee throughout his term. The majority of PCB employees opposed him, intentionally causing disruptions in the proceedings.
Despite the widespread expectation that the former PCB chairman, Najam Sethi, would reclaim his position, the sympathies of many were with him. However,to everyone’s surprise, the new chief of the PCB management committee appointed yesterday was Mohsin Naqvi. He will also join the Board of Governors alongside Mustafa Ramday. Looking at past practices, the Prime Minister chooses one of two people, and that person becomes the Chairman of the PCB. Currently Mohsin Naqvi appears to be the favored candidate.
Now, the dream of Najam Sethi becoming the chairman again can only come true if Pakistan Muslim League (N) wins the general elections and forms the government. However, if the election for the new head of the board takes place before that, for a term of three years, complications may arise. In Pakistan, the head of the board is always appointed by the Prime Minister, who is usually sympathetic to someone from his own party, as the chairman.
The Board Chief is likely to be chosen before February 4th. The Lahore High Court gave the Election Commissioner the power to create the Board of Governors. Shah Khawar is expected to be the acting chairman starting Tuesday until the new head of the board is appointed.
Yesterday, when PCB headquarters at Gaddafi Stadium got the news about Mohsin Naqvi becoming the head, the staff was surprised. People who wanted Najam Sethi back were disheartened. On the other hand, it was also announced that there would be no women’s exhibition matches with the ongoing PSL 9.
Under the leadership of Zaka Ashraf as deputy chairman, a budget of 332 million rupees was approved for a project, which has now been terminated. Similarly, several other projects initiated by the former chairman, amounting to a total of 980 million rupees, have been put on hold. These projects include the seating installation at Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium (60 million rupees), the solar system installation at Gaddafi Stadium Lahore (70 million), and the allocation of 10 million rupees for mist fans in National Bank Stadium Karachi, Multan Cricket Stadium, and Gaddafi Stadium Lahore. Furthermore, an additional 840 million rupees were earmarked for the installation of digital screens in Multan and Rawalpindi stadiums.
The government didn’t approve the projects, so in the last meeting, the management committee decided to stop them. MC informed in last meeting that the PCB has performed very well from July till December 2023. The profit of the Pakistan Cricket Board had increased from the previously budgeted figure of Rs. 88 Million to an estimated amount of approximately Rs. 391 Million despite incurring previously unbudgeted expenses.
