September 08, 2008	Monday	Ramazan 07, 1429

LAHORE, Sept 7: While rules and regulations stipulate that the governing board of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) is allowed to hold a meeting even without a chairman, the sports ministry’s objection over holding such a meeting has caused concern to two former senior officials of the PCB.

Shaharyar M. Khan, a former chairman, and Amir Sohail, former Test opener and chief selector, have expressed their dismay over the ministry’s decision.

Federal sports secretary Ashraf Khan in a statement had advised the PCB to refrain from convening a meeting without a chairman, adding that the PCB constitution does not allow it.

It appears that the governing board wants to hold a meeting, mandatory after every three months, next Monday.

As the PCB chairman Dr Nasim Ashraf resigned on Aug 18, some members of the board decided to hold a meeting to elect an acting chairman till the president of Pakistan appoints his successor.

Speaking to the media in Lahore, Shaharyar while pointing out an error in the PCB’s constitution said that although there were no clear guidelines in the constitution as to who would be the acting chairman in the absence of the sitting chairman, since the PCB was running as a corporate body the Code of Corporate Governance allows the members to call a meeting.

At present there is a huge vacuum in the PCB and since the Board is a corporate body, the Code of Corporate Governance approved by the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) is applicable in this case.

One of the code states: “A committee may elect a chairman for its meetings; but, if no such chairman is elected, or if at any meeting the chairman is not present within 10 minutes after the time appointed for holding the same or is unwilling to act as chairman, the members may choose one of their members to chair the meeting.”

The former chairman said the code was clear and the governing board meeting could be held. Shaharyar said according to the PCB constitution only the governing board was empowered to manage the affairs of the PCB.

He asserted the PCB should operate independently and the sports ministry should not have any authority on it.

Meanwhile, Amir criticised the sports secretary while asking whether the PCB came under the sports ministry or the Patron-in-Chief, the president of Pakistan?”

Amir, contended that the board called the meeting because the PCB’s Chief Operating Officer (COO) Shafqat Naghmi had taken several steps on his own, without consulting its members. He was of the view that the COO had no authority to decide any series in South Africa, besides giving permission to PCB officials to undertake unnecessary foreign trips. The COO also approved bonus for the employees worth Rs25 million without consulting the governing board.

Amir expressed his surprise that the sports secretary did not issue any instructions to the COO not to violate any rules in taking decisions.

“The sports secretary only interfered when his colleague bureaucrat was in trouble because the governing board members may grill him during the meeting,” he argued.

He added that the board meeting was essential to decide the new series in and out of the country.

The former captain also criticised Dr Nasim Ashraf for having a constitution which only served his own purpose.

Meanwhile, Shaharyar, while expressing his opinion over the selection of a new board chairman, said that he must have a cricketing as well as administrative background.

“I believe former Test cricketers including Ijaz Butt, Majid Khan, Dr Zafar Altaf, Saleem Altaf and Ramiz Raja are all qualified to run a corporate body like the PCB,” he suggested.

The former chairman urged Pakistan’s president-elect to appoint a competent chairman for the PCB immediately after taking oath.

Shaharyar, who was replaced as PCB Chairman by Dr Nasim Ashraf in 2006, while praising Dr Ashraf, pointed out that the former PCB head, even though a very cooperative man, had committed some blunders in his tenure.

“The suspension of umpire Daryl Hair from the elite panel in the wake of the Oval Test fiasco, without a probe by a neutral committee was unfair,” he reminded.

Had Hair appeared before a neutral committee to clear his position in the Oval Test, he could not have re-entered in the ICC elite panel, Shaharyar asserted.

Further elaborating, Shaharyar stated that the increase in PCB’s staff and the appointment of Shoaib Malik as captain were doubtful decisions while he went on to praise Misbah-ul-Haq’s recent performance.

“I always liked Misbah, who has improved his performance and consider him a future captain, but I don’t know why the then captain Inzamamul Haq had no enthusiasm for Misbah and Bazid Khan,” he remarked.

“Inzamam’s attitude was apathetic in considering both the players,” Shaharyar said.

He said the current performance of the Pakistan team was not satisfactory and it would take more years for it to develop.

“Medium-fast pacer Mohammad Asif has been involved twice in doping scandals and the team captain is still learning the art of leadership,” he said.

Commenting on the postponement of the ICC Champions Trophy till next year, Shaharyar regretted that the ICC failed to take a clear cut stand on the issue and in fact buckled under the pressure of some member countries.

The decision to defer it till next year was taken too late. It was the best solution to allot Pakistan the next edition of Champions Trophy (2010), while giving this one to the West Indies, the hosts of the 2010 edition.

“If I were there, I could have gone for this workable deal because under the prevailing conditions the security of the foreign teams could have been a cumbersome job,” the former chairman said.