Ramiz Raja all set to be new PCB chairman

Ramiz Raja said the aim is to reset Pakistan cricket's GPS and will be in pursuit of excellence

LAHORE (Dunya News) – Former Pakistan Captain and renowned commentator Ramiz Raja is all set to be the new chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB).

The decision follows a meeting with Prime Minister Imran Khan, who gave the go-ahead for the change of guard at the PCB. Raja will replace Ehsan Mani once the succession process is complete.

Ramiz confirmed that he has accepted the job. "The aim is to reset Pakistan cricket s GPS and will be in pursuit of excellence," Raja, who was also a Chief Executive Officer of PCB, told Cricbuzz.

Ramiz s appointment will entail a bit of a process. His name first will be forwarded to the Board of Governors of the PCB, being one of the two nominees.

Following this, there could be an election if another BoG member wants to contest, but normally, a PM s nominee is unlikely to meet any resistance. When nominated by Imran three years ago, Mani was elected unopposed. In the same way, Ramiz should find his way to the top position.

Earlier today, Ehsan Mani resigned as Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Chairman.

Ehsan Mani said that he has informed Prime Minister Imran Khan that he can no longer continue as the chairman.

Earlier this week, former skipper and renowned commentator Ramiz Raja and Ehsan Mani had called on PM Imran Khan at PM House in connection with appointment of the next chairman of the PCB.

Ehsan Mani briefed PM Khan on the matters of the board and the structure of the domestic cricket.

Mani was previously the only candidate to have submitted his nomination papers for the post, and all members of the Board of Governors unanimously voted for him to head the PCB. He had replaced Najam Sethi, who had resigned when Imran s party, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), came to power in the federal government.

During his term, Mani revamped the functioning of the PCB, redrafting the board s constitution to bring it in line with the practices of corporate governance.

Until 2019, the PCB chairperson could also act as CEO, which gave them the power to implement whichever of the board s policies they thought were fit. This has since been curbed by introducing the position of a chief executive officer.

The PCB under Mani also brought in enormous changes in the domestic structure, dismantling the previous mix of departmental and regional cricket and implementing the provincial-team model at Imran s insistence.

The change sparked country-wide outrage with the new system costing several players their livelihoods, but the PCB eventually created jobs for all veteran cricketers at the association level, offering them opportunities on various scales ranging from administrative jobs to field jobs.

Mani also put in place a thorough review of Pakistan cricket s biggest revenue-generating product, the Pakistan Super League, and faces a time crunch to revise the financial model of the league.

The PSL is set to reassess the value of its assets this year before selling its commercial and broadcasting rights. The last three-year cycle for the TV and digital streaming rights, worth approximately USD 36 million, has come to an end this year.