Justice Sair Ali to take charge as PCB chairman today
Sair Ali would be holding the office for a month as PCB chief.
LAHORE (Dunya News) – Justice (Retd) Sair Ali shall be holding the charge of interim chairman of Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) as well as that of a chief election commissioner of the board today.
Inter-Provincial Coordination Committee had issued the notification of the appointment of Justice Sair Ali on Monday. Sair Ali is to hold the responsibilities of the office for a month. He has been given the task by the government to conduct fresh elections.
Shaharyar Khan appears to be the strongest candidate for the post. His name had been replaced with Iqbal Umer in the governing board by Prime Minister (PM) Nawaz Sharif.
Earlier, according to a notification issued by the Ministry of Inter-Provincial Coordination Committee on Sports, Justice (Retd) Sair Ali is to be appointed as the acting Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman and also the chief election commissioner tasked with holding fresh elections within 30-day to appoint the new chief of the board.
While former president of PCB Najam Sethi will work as a member of the governing board.
On July 21, Supreme Court of Pakistan ordered cricket authorities to hold fresh elections within a week to end a 14-month administrative crisis that has sparked international ridicule.
The saga began in May last year when the then-chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), Zaka Ashraf, was suspended for holding dubious elections.
Since then, Ashraf and journalist Najam Sethi have been engaged in a power struggle for the top job. Each was reinstated in turn while the other was thrown out of office through a series of court rulings and government decrees.
Sethi is the current chairman, having been restored for the third time earlier this month.
The Supreme Court said the PCB must hold fresh elections for the chairman s post under its newly ratified constitution.
Sethi said he would not contest the election.
"After today s ruling I am restored until the elections are held and I will sit in the governing board but will not be contesting the election for chairman s post," he announced.
Local media last month reported that Sethi would create a new position of PCB managing director for himself, with the chairman becoming a ceremonial post. The report was denied by the body.
"I had said before, and I am saying this now, that I had no long-term interest in the PCB and my long-term interest is only in the media," said Sethi, a long time newspaper editor and TV anchor.
The musical chairs game for the top job has made the PCB a laughing stock overseas, with the International Cricket Council showing concern over who it should talk to on administrative matters.
Traditionally, the government of the day has appointed its own candidate as head of the PCB, a system which has come in for criticism from former players including Imran Khan.
