Daily Times

LAHORE: The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) is all set to amend its constitution on Wednesday (today) to accommodate a ‘blue eyed person’ who has been attached with all PCB chairmen for the last one decade. The PCB has convened an emergency meeting of its Board of Governors for today, over a one-point agenda – which is to make an amendment in its constitution to allow an extended term to the president of the Islamabad Cricket Association (ICA). News have been circulating in the national media – both print and electronic – for the last two weeks that many senior officials of the PCB are not happy with the latest development to accommodate Shakil Shiekh, a very controversial figure, and are trying to resist this amendment which, if made, will allow the candidates to contest the elections for three or more tenures of any regional cricket association.

The immediate benefit to the amendment will go to Shakil who has orchestrated the entire move for the amendment and has been putting tremendous pressure on the PCB to hold this emergency meeting to unlawfully amend the constitution in this regard which will help him retain his position in the PCB. It pertinent to mention here that Shakil has already completed his two terms of three years each as ICA president and as per the existing PCB constitution, he is not allowed to contest for the third time.

According to sources, Shakil and his cronies are harbouring hopes of getting unlawfully elected for a third term through this back-door amendment. In a civilized society, only the general body of any institution has the authority to make changes in the constitution but in the PCB, the Board of Governors has the sweeping powers to make such amendments. Shakil, who was recently appointed as advisor to PCB chief on domestic cricket, recently ended his tenure as member BoGs but it seems that he is hell-bent on holding a key position in the PCB and is ready to go to any extent to once again make himself eligible for the elections of the Islamabad Cricket Association for the third time.

In the past, Shakil has also enjoyed his stay in the PCB by performing key roles on different posts. It was on his recommendations that the PCB incorporated a clause in the constitution in 2013 under which those regions whose teams finished among top four in the Quaid-i-Azam Trophy in 2013 could have their representatives in the BoGs. As a result of this, Peshawar, Islamabad, Karachi and Rawalpindi – the top four regions – filled the places in the BoG for three years. However, this time, a new formula of rotation basis has been adopted because Islamabad were not among the top four teams. Shakil was also made head of the cricket committee as a member of the BoGs when several committees were formed to run PCB affairs from 2014 to 2017 during the tenure of ex-chairman Shaharyar M. Khan.

Shakil has also earned a bad name for using his undue influence for the inclusion of his son Arsal Shaikh in the Pakistan Under-19 squad for the 2016 World Cup although his son had not played in the under-19 tournament that year. Arsal was selected, out of turn, by junior chief selector Basit Ali in a move that was widely slammed by critics and former players alike.

Published in Daily Times, November 22^nd 2017.