ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan on Monday held separate meetings with Pakistan Cricket Board chairman Ehsan Mani and former Test opener Rameez Raja amid speculation about the appointment of the next chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board.
While Mani’s three-year term ends on Wednesday, sources said the prime minister wanted to replace Mani with cricket-turned-commentator Ramiz. However, during the meeting held on Monday, sources said Mani sought a second term to complete the “unfinished” works.
After meeting with Mani at the PM’s office on Monday, the Prime Minister met Ramiz, who had also served as the Pakistan captain during his playing days. According to sources, the PM is yet to decide whether he will allow 76-year-old Mani to continue in the post.
Surprisingly, the PM’s office did not release any information in this regard, leading to widespread speculation in the cricketing world that Mani has been asked to continue as PCB chief.
Sources said that before Thursday, the Prime Minister will approve two names for the PCB’s Board of Governors and there is some possibility that both Mani and Ramiz will be nominated as BoG members by the Prime Minister as the only member of the Board of Governors He can only contest elections. For the post of PCB Chairman.
There is a possibility that Mani will retain his position as BoG member and another member Asad Ali Khan will be replaced by Ramiz, revealed sources. Then at a later stage, the PM will announce his decision regarding the new chairman.
Being Imran’s former aide, sources said, the 59-year-old Ramiz is in the PM’s good books, and it is likely that he will be appointed as the PCB chairman. And even if Mani continues as chief, the former opener will be given some important position.
A government official claimed on the condition of anonymity that the PM had allowed Mani to continue because of his contribution in reviving international cricket in Pakistan, apart from changing the domestic cricket structure. The official said that the ICC T20 World Cup was going to be held in October-November this year and if changes were required, a new PCB chairman would be appointed after the World Cup, subject to Pakistan’s performance in the mega event. . .
On the other hand, a former BOG member said that Imran had decided to replace Mani with Ramiz and that was the reason the PM had called him for the meeting. According to the member, a few days back the Prime Minister had also informed some former cricketers about his decision to give Rameez the role of PCB chairman.
Meanwhile, sources said that Imran, during his meeting with Mani, showed his displeasure over Pakistan’s poor performance in England, where the national team lost the T20 series 1-2 apart from suffering a 0-3 ODI whitewash in July this year. Lost. Three years ago, Mani was appointed as a BOG member by Imran, and later contested and won the election to become the PCB chief in September 2018, replacing Najam Sethi who had resigned.
Both the visitors to the PM’s office kept avoiding the media and despite repeated attempts, Mani could not be contacted for his comments. A source said that when Mani came out of the PM’s office after the meeting, his complexion was slightly pale.
During his three years as PCB chairman, Mani, who also served as the chairman of the International Cricket Council, played a good role in restoring international cricket in Pakistan. On the other hand, the change of domestic structure that eliminated the role of departments in the game, resulting in many departmental cricketers becoming unemployed, also occurred during his time in office.
Mani also approved the new constitution of the PCB.
However during his tenure, club cricket faced a formidable challenge as there was no recognized and sanctioned competition at the club level, which is the nursery of cricket.
While the PCB is yet to complete the registration process of the six newly formed provincial associations. Apart from gradually bringing the Pakistan Super League T20 tournament, the PCB’s flagship event, to Pakistan from 2019 onwards, the Mani-led PCB regime also submitted an expression of interest to host six international events during the 2024-2031 ICC Future Tours Programme. Of.
Published in Dawn, August 24, 2021