Five out of seven members of the Pakistan Cricket Board’s (PCB) Board of Governors (BoG) on Wednesday presented a resolution declaring the appointment of Wasim Khan as managing director as “null and void” – a development that PCB chairman Ehsan Mani deemed ‘hugely’ disappointing. “Appointment of managing director Wasim Khan along with the creation of the unconstitutional post of PCB MD is hereby declared null and void,” read a copy of the resolution, which the members wanted to be adopted during yesterday’s BoG meeting.
Additionally, according to the resolution, any move to abolish departments or regions in the process of restructuring domestic cricket was also rejected and termed as “unacceptable”. As per the resolution, the members of the BoG called for a Domestic Cricket Restructuring Committee (DCRC) within the next ten days. They added that it should consist of four members representing all four regions “with a departmental representation” and called for it to be presented during the next meeting of the BoG scheduled to be held on April 30. “The DCRC shall be headed by a regional president representing on the BoG as its chairman and shall be empowered to invite and seek views of stakeholders as and when required/needed.” The resolution further stated that the “constitution of PCB shall be amended in the light of recommendations/proposals of the DCRC.” The resolution was signed by BoG members Numan Butt, Shahrez Abdullah Khan, Kabir Ahmed Khan, Shah Dost, and Ayaz Butt.
Nauman Butt, a member of the BoG, told reporters that they had reviewed the constitution of the PCB and found that there was no place for a managing director. He said that the constitution had clearly stated that the chairperson was to be the chief executive officer, which was followed by the position of the chief operating officer. According to Butt, the BoG members had not taken part in any boycott; instead, he said, that they had passed the resolution and presented it during the meeting. He said that they had rejected the agenda of the PCB, which was “against the vision of the prime minister”. “We will not take any step that is against the vision of the PCB constitution,” he added.
Separately on Wednesday, the cricket board issued a press release announcing that the BoG meeting, held in Quetta for the first time, had been adjourned due to an incomplete quorum. According to the press release, the meeting began but was “adjourned for a brief period pursuant to five members attempting to table a resolution, which was not part of the agenda”, adding that: “The PCB chairman had proposed any business other than the agenda could be considered under Any Other Items at the end of the meeting.” Mani said that he was “hugely disappointed” by the events adding that he was looking forward to an “interactive, productive and constructive discussion, which was aimed at taking Pakistan cricket forward”. Speaking to the media in Quetta, Mani said that the recommendations of the BoG members were “completely unreasonable”. He said that their recommendations had previously been approved but they had changed their position. “We will look at what they want. There are no two ways about this, we need to fix Pakistani cricket.”
Wasim, an MBA from Warwick Business School, is a former professional cricketer with a wealth of experience in cricket and cricket management, the PCB spokesperson had said on Wasim;s appointment. The 47-year-old cricketer has played county cricket in England from 1995 to 2001, during which he represented Warwickshire, Sussex and Derbyshire. He also has playing experience in Australia, New Zealand and South Africa. In a 58-match first-class career, Wasim scored 2,835 runs with five centuries and 17 half-centuries, with a highest score of 181. He was awarded MBE in 2013 and two years later, he was appointed as the Chief Executive of the Leicestershire County Cricket Club where he has enjoyed a successful stint. In 2005, he was recruited by Lord Mervyn King, former Governor of the Bank of England, to lead a 50million community development project that operated in 11,000 state schools and engaged 2.5 million children across England and Wales. Wasim’s autobiography Brim Full of Passion was voted as the Wisden Book of the Year 2006.