Najam Sethi already holds considerable influence in the PCB, as part of the three-man Executive Committee and one of the key forces behind the Pakistan Super League © AFP
Najam Sethi’s chances of taking over as chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board have been strengthened after he was named as one of two direct nominees on the PCB’s Board of Governors (BoG). Sethi and Arif Ejaz, a prominent corporate figure, were nominated by the patron of the PCB, the current Prime Minister of Pakistan Nawaz Sharif.
The three-year tenure of the current BoG, the body that essentially drives the PCB, ends in August. Under the constitution of the board a fresh election will be carried out for a new chairman by the new BoG, which will sit till August 2020.
The development also confirms that the current board chairman Shaharyar Khan, 83, will be stepping down. Khan had tendered his resignation earlier this year. Ejaz will be his replacement on the BoG. Sethi’s reappointment is a signal of continuity and means, effectively, that his term has been extended for another three years: he is already on the BoG, holds a powerful role as head of three-man executive committee (ExCo) and is one of the driving forces behind the Pakistan Super League.
The composition of the BoG was reworked in 2014, reducing the members from 14 to 10. The body is made up of four representatives of regional associations (chosen from the top four regional teams from the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy), four representatives of services organisations (from the top four department sides) and the two representatives directly appointed by the patron. An official from an inter-provincial coordination government body acts as an ex officio, non-voting 11th member. The term of each member of the BoG is three years – equivalent to one term of the chairman in a bid to induce continuity in the set-up.
The four new regional representatives will be determined by the Election Commissioner in consultation with the present functional BoG on July 31. It is understood that the current four regional representatives – Islamabad, Rawalpindi Karachi and Peshawar – will be replaced by four new regions. The constitution states that the next four will be appointed on the basis of their ranking in the last Quaid-e-Azam trophy.
If the rules of rotation are applied then it is believed that Lahore and FATA will rise to BoG membership along with Faisalabad and Multan – who topped the Grade II Quaid-e-Azam Trophy. And according to their standings in the QeA, Water And Power Development Authority and United Bank Limited will retain their seats while Habib Bank Limited and Sui Southern Gas Company Limited will replace Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited and National Bank of Pakistan.
According to the constitution, it is the Patron who makes the first move to pick the new chairman. His request to the election commissioner to hold fresh elections prompts a meeting of the BoG, who then select a candidate from among themselves through a majority vote. All of this must be done within four weeks of the chairman’s office becoming vacant.
Umar Farooq is ESPNcricinfo’s Pakistan correspondent
© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.
Source: ESPN Crickinfo