Arif Abbasi better choice than Ehsan Mani to head PCB

By Syed Khalid Mahmood
(Pakistan News & Features Services)

The challenges to Imran Khan, the Prime Minister, are far too many. As he has been saying it repeatedly and publicly, he’s fast becoming sick of the problems coming to his knowledge during the presentations he has been taking from the various Ministries and departments after assuming office.

The one area where Prime Minister Imran Khan is most likely to deliver is cricket, the game which earned him fame and fortune. 

Arguably the greatest and the most gifted cricketer ever to have played for Pakistan, his passion for cricket is known to everyone. 

Najam Sethi, instead of going to courts, chose to resign as Chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) as Imran Khan prepared to take oath as the Prime Minister of Pakistan. 

All eyes were then on the Prime Minister himself as he was to decide the successor to the outgoing PCB chief. Imran Khan, after being sworn in as the Prime Minister, also got the constitutional right to nominate the Chairman of the PCB.

He opted for Ehsan Mani, who has also been a former President of the International Cricket Council (ICC) besides having represented the country in the game’s governing body for a number of years. 

Ehsan Mani can be considered as a good choice but given the current situation it would have been advisable to have gone for Arif Ali Khan Abbasi instead, if the idea was to recover the lost ground and conquer new frontiers. 

Arif Abbasi looked the most suitable person to lead the revival of Pakistan cricket in the current scenario when a lot of additional qualities are required besides mere experience of handling the affairs of the game. 

Having proven track record and possessing the contacts in the concerned international circles, Arif Abbasi would have stood a better chance of restoring the image of Pakistan cricket, which was severely dented during the last one decade in particular. 

Interestingly it was Arif Abbasi who had played the pivotal role in having Imran Khan installed as the captain of the Pakistan cricket team in 1982. It was a bold move which made immediate dividends.

Imran Khan was handed over the captaincy when many of the senior members of the team had revolted against Javed Miandad. 

The Pakistan cricket was facing a crisis those days but it went to the credit of Arif Abbasi, the then Honorary Secretary of the Board of Control for Cricket in Pakistan (BCCP), to have converted the problem into an opportunity and the rest is history. 

Something of that sort is the need of the hour once more. The Pakistan cricket needed a go-getter like Arif Abbasi to turn it around at this time. 

Imran Khan should have opted for Arif Abbasi, instead of Ehsan Mani, if he desired implementing his own ambitious plans of overhauling the cricket system in the country. 

The Prime Minister may still involve Arif Abbasi in some capacity but when and how it remains to be seen. It will be in Pakistan cricket’s interest to have been in the leadership role somewhere.