September 10, 2008	Wednesday	Ramazan 09, 1429

LAHORE, Sept 9: Former manager of Pakistan cricket team Fakir Syed Aizazuddin has requested President Asif Ali Zardari, who is also Patron-in-Chief of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), to immediately appoint a new chairman of the board.

Fakir said that the new head of the Pakistan Cricket Board must be a person with a cricketing, and administrative background so that the national institution could be run on professional basis.

Fakir said in the larger interest of the game he felt that only an honest technocrat could streamline cricket affairs in Pakistan.

He suggested that Ijaz Butt,

a former Test cricketer should be considered as a choice as he had all the potential qualities to run an organisation like the PCB.

“Ijaz has been a Test cricketer, ex-secretary of the cricket board, chairman of the selection committee, manager of the Pakistan cricket team and a director of a big business firm”, Faqir said.

He said Pakistan’s cricket had already suffered under the command of non-technocrats since the last nine years as the national team could not even qualify for the second round of the two previous World Cups in 2003 and 2007.