May 19, 2007	Saturday	Jamadi-ul-Awwal 02, 1428

ABU DHABI, May 18: Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Chairman, Dr Nasim Ashraf said on Friday that major changes were on the cards in the board to make cricket more organised in the country and to ensure that Pakistan becomes one of the top three teams in the world over the next few years.

“I will not be commenting on PCB Commission's findings that blames former skipper Inzamam-ul-Haq for World Cup debacle. But I can assure you that every aspect of the PEC report will be taken into account and all recommendations will be honoured and implemented,” he said in an interview with the Gulf News.

“There will no longer be any graded payments based on seniority but only on performance. The whole team has promised us that they will extend full support to new skipper Shoaib Malik,” he said.

“When I walked in today, everyone told me that this was a new-look team where the players appeared hungry for success and had been training hard. The change is quite visible already,” he said.

“We have told Malik not to worry about results. To just go out there, work hard and be professional. The results will come.”

Commenting on the new coach, Dr Ashraf said PCB was looking for someone with energy and passion to work with a young team. “We are not looking for a big name. Many have applied and by July 1, we will not only name a coach for national team but also for A team, the Under-19 side and the Academy,” he said.

“Within the Board also, corporate management techniques will be applied and we will deal with players like professionals. We have earmarked over a billion rupees for development of grounds. Young players can learn to dive and field well at that level itself.” —Agencies