It is case of out with the old and in with the new at the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB). With former Chairman Najam Sethi doing what was expected of him; albeit ever so slightly behind schedule. From the moment Imran Khan emerged as the pretender to the prime ministerial throne, Mr Sethi’s days were numbered. There is nothing overly unusual about this, per se. Indeed, Dr Nasim Ashraf waited only a matter of hours after Gen (rtd) Musharraf — the man who handpicked him for the top spot at the PCB — left office before tendering his own resignation. The logic being that a new government would want to bring in its own team. There are a little more than two years left to Mr Sethi’s mandate. It therefore would have made sense to allow him to finish what he started in the long and ardent journey towards reversing the country’s cricket fortunes. And to be sure, the latter has enjoyed considerable success on this front. Not least the launching of the investor-driven Pakistan Super League (PSL) and the patient coaxing of international cricket’s return. Yet this is not simply a matter of a new set-up wishing to make its mark from the get-go. Or even of a former and accomplished cricketer seeking to use his particular skills database to overhaul the PCB. For in the immediate aftermath of the elections, there has been a ramped-up smear campaign against Mr Sethi. Including allegations of tapping the phones of Board officials as well as nepotism and corruption. The latter prompted the PTI chairman, then PM-in waiting, to urge the National Accountability Court (NAB) to investigate this as a matter of priority. Bluntly put, this a gross misstep. For it sends the message that Naya Pakistan is dressed in borrowed sheep’s clothing. And that PM Khan has still to accept the judicial inquiry’s probe that cleared Mr Sethi of charges of poll rigging in the 2013 elections in his capacity as then interim Chief Minister Punjab. All of which naturally smacks of a selective approach to supremacy of law in the name of ‘vendetta politics’. It is immensely regrettable that it has come to this. That being said, what is cricket’s loss is journalism’s gain. So, welcome back, Mr Sethi. You have been sorely missed. * Published in Daily Times, August 22nd 2018.