A MAN who seeks to cling on to the position of the Pakistan Cricket Board chief even when his party loses the general election. A caretaker chief minister going on to chair the PCB. Court battles. Allegations of conflict of interest and of favouritism in the award of rights to telecast live games. These are things of the past. It’s been a fast downward slide. On Monday Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif sacked Zaka Ashraf as PCB chief and cleared the way for his handpicked Najam Sethi to regain charge of the board. Mr Sethi had been first appointed to look after the PCB after a court ruling in May 2013 held Mr Ashraf’s appointment as board chairman illegal. In a recent twist, Mr Ashraf succeeded in making his way back to the coveted post some three weeks ago. He was allowed to attend an extremely important International Cricket Council meeting where Pakistan opposed the successful and highly controversial bid for ‘the big three’ — India, Australia and England — to take control of the game globally. Upon his return home he must have been looking for appreciation for his stand when he was struck by the agents of pragmatism. One allegation emerging against Zaka Ashraf is that he mishandled Pakistan’s case at the ICC. But if that is the case, then the question is, why was he allowed to? Surely his dismissal from the PCB could have come before the ICC meeting, which could have put matters back into the ‘safe hands’ of Najam Sethi.

Apart from this, the sheer manner of Mr Ashraf’s ouster from the board does not reflect well on the elected rulers who swear by democracy, coexistence and the writ of law. The PCB rules were changed to get rid of an unwanted but legally restored official. Mr Ashraf’s statement that he would have complied if he had been asked to quit by the prime minister could be seen as an attempt to gain the moral high ground. He must have seen it coming after the prime minister took no notice of his repeated requests for an audience. But then, there was an element of force, of arrogance, in the act of his removal, and in the way the new PCB committee seized the headquarters at the Gaddafi Stadium to complete their triumph.

Chairman again, Najam Sethi now promises good times for Pakistan and is expected to get the best possible bargain in the circumstances for Pakistan cricket. The truth is that the ICC, with all its powers, could not ignore Pakistan, with all its weaknesses and problems. The game is far from over and Pakistan is in no real danger of elimination. Pakistan is a big enough player to count. It cannot be ignored since it offers plenty of talent and thrills to be marketed globally.