October 08, 2006	Sunday	Ramazan 14, 1427

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LAHORE, Oct 7: The outgoing chairman Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Shaharyar M Khan has said that it was the right time for him to quit the job.

Shaharyar,72, who tendered his resignation on Friday, said at a press conference on Saturday that he wanted to run the board with dedication and transparency, without any confrontation-like situation, but the Oval Test's fiasco and Younis Khan's abrupt decision of refusing to the captaincy disappointed him and compelled him to take the decision.

"Though my decision will affect the Pakistan team at this stage, I consider I should quit the job, specially before the start of the ICC Trophy,” he said.

Shaharyar also read out his statement on the occasion, which stated: "On 6th October, I tendered my resignation to the President as Chairman of PCB. My three-year contract was to end in December and I had decided in consultation with my family that I would not want to continue. The fiasco at the Oval and the crisis caused by Younis Khan's resignation has grieved me considerably as these events reflected adversely on the Board. I therefore decided that the honorable course to take was to resign immediately and allow my successor sufficient time to settle in before the World Cup."

"I am grateful to the president for accepting my resignation and I warmly welcome the appointment of Dr Nasim Ashraf – a colleague on the ad-hoc committee," he said.

Asked if the Patron of the board asked him to resign, Shaharyar said there could be various speculations but what he had said was quite enough.

Shaharyar admitted that on Thursday he asked Younis through his peon to wait for some time because he was in a meeting with a person. But Younis instead of waiting for him addressed the press conference and announced the decision.