Najam Sethi pulls out of race to be next PCB chairman

Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) interim chief Najam Sethi.
| Photo Credit: AFP

Pakistan Cricket Board’s interim chief Najam Sethi on June 20 said he will not seek a permanent position in the PCB after pulling out of the race to be its next chairman.

Mr. Sethi said he didn’t wish to be the “bone of contention” between the country’s top political leaders— Pakistan Peoples Party president Asif Zardari and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.

The announcement clears the way for Zaka Ashraf to again take over as PCB chairman.

In a late-night tweet, Mr. Sethi said: “Salaam everyone! I don’t want to be a bone of contention between Asif Zardari and Shehbaz Sharif. Such instability and uncertainty are not good for PCB. Under the circumstances, I am not a candidate for the chairmanship of PCB. Good luck to all stakeholders.” The late-night announcement clears the way for Zaka Ashraf to again take over as PCB chairman.

The development could have implications on the upcoming Asia Cup and the ICC World Cup.

The PCB found itself in a spin in recent times because both the parties in the ruling coalition government at the centre— Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz and Pakistan Peoples Party— wanted their nominees as chairman of the board.

While the PPP has been pushing for Ashraf pointing out that Mr. Sethi was brought in as chairman of the cricket management committee to run PCB affairs and hold fresh elections and restore the 2014 constitution. They said it would be a conflict of interest if he contested the elections, while Mr. Sharif had indicated Sethi would continue.

Mr. Sharif who belongs to the PML N, in fact, recently twice held meetings with Mr. Sethi which indicated Mr. Zaka would not be nominated by the Premier for the chairman’s elections.

Ironically both Mr. Sethi and Mr. Zaka had also faced off in court in 2013/14 for the hot seat when both were backed by their parties with Mr. Sethi eventually winning the battle.