Daily Times

Former Pakistan skipper and commentator Ramiz Raja and Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Chairman Ehsan Mani called on Prime Minister Imran Khan at PM House on Monday in connection with the appointment of next chairman of the PCB, as Mani’s current term is due to end this month.

PM Khan hinted at appointing Ramiz Raja as the new chairman of the PCB, a private news channel reported, adding that Mani has been informed that he would not be given another term in office.

It merits mentioning here that Mani’s term as PCB chief is ending on August 25, with sources suggesting that the PM has decided to appoint Ramiz Raja, who is likely to be given the task to implement Imran Khan’s vision.

A quick overview of his three-year tenure in office reveals the overall team performance of the national team declined, while the general revamping pace had also been slow and casual.

Pakistan played 10 Test match series since 2018-19, when Mani took over as chairman of PCB. And of those 10 series, Pakistan lost five and won only one against teams ranked in the world’s top five-Australia in 2019-20 in UAE.

The side played ten ODI series since 2018-19, losing seven of the ten. Pakistan won just three of the 10 ODI series played in the Mani reign, winning one series against South Africa (2-1), one against Zimbabwe (2-1), and one against Sri Lanka (2-0).

For the first time in the country’s cricket history, there has been no recognised and approved competition at the club level. The PCB entirely controls the powers from Lahore rather than devolving it to the provinces, cities and to the clubs-which is the watchword of the new constitution.

As per rules, PM Imran Khan will send two names for the post of PCB chairman to the governing board.

The ten-member governing board includes four independent members, three provisional cricket association heads, and the chief executive officer.