LAHORE, Sept 4: The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) headquarters at the Qadhafi Stadium gives a haunted look these days because most of its senior officials are enjoying foreign trips whereas some important posts like that of the chief executive and treasurer are lying vacant.
This situation prevails at a time when the PCB is to host a three-nation tournament (involving Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe) and a two-Test series against Sri Lanka in Sept-Oct.
Chairman Shaharyar M. Khan has been accompanying the Pakistan team since it departed for Holland on Aug 18 to take part in three-nation tournament.
He is still with the team which has reached England, directly from Holland, for the ICC Champions Trophy starting there from Sept 10.
There is no confirmed date about his return. It is a record-making period of any PCB chairman accompanying the team.
The PCB cricket operation general manager Zakir Khan is also with the chairman since day one and is scheduled to return on Sept 9.
The PCB general manager logistic Asad Mustafa as assistant manager, a new post created recently by the board, is also accompanying the team.
Selection committee chairman Wasim Bari has also left for England, setting aside all selecting matters in connection with the home series (three-nation tournament and two-Test series).
A member of the selection committee, Ehteshamuddin, accompanied the team in Holland.
The visit of the PCB marketing consultant Riaz Mahmood, a friend of PCB chief, to UK is also on the cards.
He has been assigned the duty to look after the share of the Pakistan from the ICC Champions Trophy revenue.
Riaz charges PCB Rs7,000 per hour besides commission from all the contracts.
Meanwhile, the manager of National Stadium, Karachi, Razaullah Khan, also visited Holland for the tri-nation tournament at PCB's expense.
Each of these official receive more than US$100 as daily allowance besides boarding, loding and air passage provided by the PCB.
The total amount being spent on these officials is estimated in millions of rupees.
The irresponsible attitude in the PCB could be gauged further as the important posts as that of the chief executive and the treasurer are still lying vacant after Ramiz Raja and Mohammad Naeem tendered their resignations last month.
Abbas Zaidi, a retired diplomat and former collegue of the PCB chief and employed as a consultant on a lucrative package, who had only five-month experience in the board, is managing the affairs.
Meanwhile, the PCB has awarded the title sponsorship of the forthcoming three-nation tournament and Test series against Sri Lanka to a businesshouse which had sponsored the last home series against Bangladesh in 2003.
It is learnt the deal had been done for Rs7.8 million, without asking for bids through newspaper advertisements, a policy adopted by the PCB chairman.
