PVCA assured PCB support for staging inaugural Over-40 World Cup

Pakistan News & Features Services

The Pakistan Veterans Cricket Association (PVCA) has been assured total support by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) in holding the inaugural Over-40 World Cup Cricket Tournament in Karachi later this year. 

The assurance was given by Najam Sethi, Chairman, PCB Management Committee, during his one-to-one meeting with the PVCA Chairman, Fawad Ijaz Khan, which was held in Karachi on February 16. The PVCA helmsman expressed his pleasure at having held what he considered to be a fruitful meeting with the high-profile PCB chief.

“I shared with him the details of the Over-40 World Cup, scheduled to be held in Karachi September 23 to October 8 this years in which a total of 14 countries will be participating with 56 matches to be played at eight different grounds of the city,” Fawad Ijaz disclosed in a brief chat with PNFS.

“After going through our plans and seeking details on some organizational aspects, the PCB Chairman was kind enough to appreciate the efforts of our body and he agreed in principle to fully support the event,” the PVCA Chairman added. 

He explained the various points of this year’s Over-40 World Cup, in which many star players have confirmed participation, as well as the other activities of the PVCA both at the domestic as well international levels in a meeting that lasted around one hour. The PCB chief was also briefed about the preparations for team which will be traveling to Cape Town, South Africa, next month to participate in the Over-50 World Cup 2023. 

Najam Sethi, known for his proactive approach, commended the initiatives of the PVCA for efficiently conducting a broad array of activities, including organizing the Inter-School Cricket Tournaments. He applauded the World Cup winning Pakistan Over-60 team which lifted the trophy in Brisbane in September 2022.

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Najam Sethi should have been allowed to continue helming PCB; Arif Abbasi better choice than Ehsan Mani

By Syed Khalid Mahmood 

(Pakistan News & Features Services)

The challenges to Imran Khan, the Prime Minister, may be far too many. As he has been quoted as admitting repeatedly and publicly that he has fast becoming sick of the problems coming to his knowledge during the presentations he has had from the various Ministries and departments after assuming office with full of promises. 

The one area where Prime Minister Imran being expected to deliver is cricket, the game which has 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 prepared to take oath as the Prime Minister of Pakistan. 

It is a common knowledge that he deemed it proper to quit himself instead of waiting to be sidelined. The political differences between the two high-profile personalities are known to everyone but for the sake of Pakistan cricket, Najam should have been allowed to continue helming the PCB. 

But Imran, despite his preoccupations and innumerable challenges at the highest office of the country, opted to poke his nose in the cricket affairs by accepting the resignation and started hunting for a successor. 

After being sworn in as the Prime Minister, he did get the constitutional right to nominate the Chairman of the PCB. 

He settled 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 is being considered as a controversial choice and, given the current situation, it would have been advisable to have retained Najam instead, if the idea was to continue recovering the lost ground and conquer new frontiers. 

Najam, a go-getter in the truest sense of the word,  had looked as 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, Najam would have stood much better chance of further improving the image of Pakistan cricket, which was severely dented during the tenure of Ijaz Butt in particular. 

The name of veteran administrator Arif Ali Khan Abbasi was also doing rounds as a successor to Najam. He had played the pivotal role in having Imran installed as the captain of the Pakistan cricket team in 1982, which was a bold move, paid immediate dividends. Imran, it may be recalled, 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 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. 

Bigger challenges were faced in the era of match-fixing in the 1990s and Arif, as CEO, was believed to have handled the situations shrewdly. Arif could have been a more appropriate choice to head Ehsan, even if Imran had made up his mind to settle his political scores with Najam. 

It is really shameful that the charismatic Najam, who had settled into his groove, had to leave the scene because he had rightly assessed that the new government was not going to see him in office at any cost. It would have been in Pakistan cricket’s interest to have been in the leadership role but that is not to be, for the time being.

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Race against time as NSK renovation gears up for PSL

By Abdul Qadir Qureshi
(Pakistan News & Features Services)

It will be race against time as renovation and refurbishment work at the National Stadium Karachi (NSK) has geared up for holding the third edition of the Pakistan Super League (PSL-3) in February 2018.

The country’s premier Test centre has been without proper international activity since 2009 although an invitation XI, featuring quite a few foreign cricketers, had played a couple of T20 games against Pakistan XI in 2012. 

The Gaddafi Stadium Lahore has hosted a few international matches, including One-day and T20 series against Zimbabwe, last year’s PSL final, T20 series against World XI and recent one T20 against Sri Lanka. 

The pressure was mounting on the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) to restore international cricket in Karachi as well. The PCB Chairman, Najam Sethi, then announced that Karachi will host at least four matches in the PSL-3. 

He also disclosed having tried his best to hold one World XI match in Karachi but the International Cricket Council (ICC) didn’t agree. He hoped that the NSK will be in line for hosting international matches in future after successfully staging its matches of the PSL-3.

Holders Islamabad United, runners-up Quetta Gladiators, Karachi Kings, Lahore Qalandars, Peshawar Zalmi and the newly included Multan Sultan will take part in the PSL-3 which is likely to start from the middle of February and conclude with final on the Pakistan Day (March 23). 

Meanwhile the National Logistic Cell (NLC) Engineering Department has been assigned the task to complete the first phase of the renovation work ahead of PSL matches. 

The PCB had awarded a Rs. billion NSK up gradation work to NLC with NESPAK as its consultant. According to the contract, the work has to be completed in one year time. “We are determined and eager to complete the task of first phase within the allocated time,” Project Manager NLC Engineering, Wing Col (Rtd) Muhammad Sohaib, stated. 

He said that they were using different work force for the purpose. It started with a work force of at the start and presently around 50-60 people were on the job “We use the work force as per our requirement,” he remarked.

A recent visit to NSK showed that all the 22 public bathrooms with 8 to 10 toilet blocks have already been dismantled while roof of the VIP stands including Hanif Mohammad and Javed Miandad enclosures has already been removed and this will follow in respect of other stands. 

The installation of 30 new hospitality boxes with attached bath rooms located technically on the fourth floor is also part of the first phase with installation of a modern lift for these boxes. 

The chairman boxes with capacity of around 100 signatories, teams’ dressing rooms, umpires rooms, referee room, physiotherapist room, and broadcasters and media boxes will also be renovated and upgraded with modern facilities. 

The 33,000 capacity stadium last staged a major international event of Asia Cup in 2008, a memorable event participated by holders Sri Lanka, India, Pakistan and Bangladesh. The entrance of the stadium will also be improved and both the roads inside will be carpeted. Parking facilities for around 500 to 600 vehicles is also being created.

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Musical chair hurting Pakistan cricket

By Syed Khalid Mahmood

(Pakistan News & Features Services)

The musical chair at the top for the past one year has started to hurt the Pakistan cricket very seriously and there’s hardly any indication to suggest that remedial measures will be taken for damage control purposes.

In fact the manner in which the government has put its weight behind Najam Sethi has put doubts in the minds of the people whether there’s any intention of the powers that be to steer the Pakistan cricket out of the mess.

It looks quite strange, if not totally surprising, that the democratically elected government has not been prepared to let Chaudhary Zaka Ashraf work at all although he was elected to the position of the Chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) in 2013 through a democratic process.

Earlier this month he had been reinstated as the PCB Chairman for the second time this year, after the Islamabad High Court (IHC) annulled the committee headed by Najam Sethi, Even before Zaka Ashraf could properly step in, he was shown the door again.

The Supreme Court of Pakistan ordered a stay against the IHC judgement and a three-judge bench, headed by Justice Anwar Zaheer Jamali, accepted the government's plea on May 20, reinstated the Najam Sethi-led management committee to run the PCB, and restored all its decisions. The bench has called all the parties involved for a hearing on May 27. It remains to be seen how many more twists there would be to this tale.

The reinstatement of Najam Sethi wasn’t generally welcomed in the cricket circles of Pakistan as besides his own dubious record there are a few others in his so-called Management Committee, having caused more damage to the game than him in the past.

Zaka Ashraf, on the other hand, was looking good in whatever little time he was allowed to work at the helm of the affairs. His decision to rope in Arif Ali Khan Abbasi appeared a masterstroke in these circumstances. Alas that couldn’t materialize.

It’s painful really to compromise on the interests of the game which unites the nation and brings smiles on the faces of the millions, the majority of whom have thousands of issues up their sleeves.

It would have been advisable to let Zaka Ashraf work for a considerable length of time because he had shown a lot of promise and guts to take the Pakistan cricket out of shambles. The government could have intervened if he was found wanting or committed acts that defied national policies.

But to shoot him down just for the political reasons or to accommodate someone seems unfair by all means. They could have obliged Najam Sethi in some other ways, as they were already doing, but to engage him in the cricket affairs at the expense of a democratically elected chairman doesn’t make sense.

Isn’t it a pity that Zaka Ashraf was forced to devote the major chunk of his energies in counter-productive events for the past one year? He had many plans to fulfill when he became the first-ever elected chairman of the PCB last May. Less than three weeks after his election, the IHC had barred him from dispensing his duties, following questions over the legality of his appointment. 

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Reinstated Zaka Ashraf needs time to deliver

By Syed Khalid Mahmood
(Pakistan News & Features Services)

Chaudhary Zaka Ashraf, having been reinstated as the Chairman of the Pakistan (PCB) for the second time this year, after the Islamabad High Court (IHC) annulled the committee headed by Najam Sethi, needs time to deliver at the helm of the affairs.

Zaka Ashraf, during his brief tenure, had shown a lot of promise and guts to take the Pakistan cricket out of shambles but he hasn’t had the time yet to implement the policies of his in letter and spirit. 

In fact he has been forced to devote the major chunk of his energies in counter-productive events for the past one year. He had many plans to fulfill when he became the first-ever elected chairman of the PCB last May. 

Less than three weeks after his election, the IHC barred him from dispensing his duties, following questions over the legality of his appointment. The IHC upheld his suspension at a subsequent hearing and ordered the PCB to name an interim chairman. 

Najam Sethi was named PCB's interim chairman last June and a couple of months later the Ministry of Inter Provincial Coordination (IPC) installed Amir Tariq Zaman Khan the PCB secretary, a role not defined in the PCB constitution, in compliance with the High Court order.

Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, on October 15, dissolved the PCB governing board and formed a five-member interim management committee headed by Najam Sethi. 

Exactly three months later the High Court reinstated Zaka Ashraf as the PCB chairman. But Najam Sethi returned as the PCB chairman in less than a month time, after the patron of the board, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, dismissed Zaka Ashraf and dissolved the board of governors once again. 

The IHC, on May 17, has now dismissed the order issued by Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on February 10 which had removed Zaka Ashraf as chairman, paving the way for his return. A couple of days later the court reinstated Zaka Ashraf again, annulling the committee headed by Najam Sethi and all the decisions taken by it during its four-month term.

That has been the story for the past 12 months with Zaka Ashraf getting no time whatsoever for making his contributions at the top. He seems to be having the capacity to deliver and act on fast track, if allowed to do so. 

One hopes that he will finally be granted some time to prove his mettle and better sense will prevail in the corridors of power. Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and people close to him should now let Zaka Ashraf work rather than be engaged in politics. 

Meanwhile Zaka Ashraf has returned to lead at the PCB headquarters in Lahore, having watched the events from the sidelines for the past few months. 

"Eventually justice prevailed. I always respected the court decision, and even if it was against me I could have accepted that as well. The court judgment says that all decisions in my absence are nullified but I will review them," he was quoted as saying when assuming the charge again.

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