Daily Times

LAHORE: Najam Sethi is slated to replace Shaharyar Khan as chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) following the latter’s decision to step down. Shaharyar will not seek another term in office due to personal and health reasons and is to step down in August when his current tenure ends. The 83-year-old administrator, who has been in the post since 2014, said Thursday that he had already made his plans known to Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, who is the patron of the PCB. “I have taken the PCB Governing Council in confidence and conveyed my decision that I will not continue after our mandate is ending on August 18,” Shaharyar added. “I will not continue after it as chairman or as in any other capacity and it’s my decision on the basis of personal and health reasons.” According to sources, Sethi, the head of PCB’s executive committee and member of Governing Council, will be ‘elected unopposed’ once the Prime Minister accepts the current chairman’s resignation. According to PCB rules, a new PCB chairman must be elected within 28 days of the previous one stepping down. Any member of PCB’s Governing Council can be a candidate for the post.

It has been reported that Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif is very happy with the role Sethi played in holding the final of the Pakistan Super League (PSL) in Lahore. The match translated into a major boost in political support for the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz and premier wants to reward Sethi, who is also the PSL chairman, for this. It has been decided that Sethi will be the next PCB chairman and no candidate will be fielded against him in the election for the slot. All present members of PCB’s Governing Council support Sethi. However, their terms too are set to expire on August 6, 2018, which is why the election for next chairman is likely to take place as soon as possible. Sethi’s election may also be challenged in a court of law and Sethi, who is aware of these developments and has faced a similar situation before, has started legal consultations to prepare for such an eventuality. Sethi has served as PCB chairman twice before, from June 2013 to January 2014 and from February 2014 to May 2014. He was engaged in a legal battle with former PCB chairman Zaka Ashraf during that time.