KARACHI: The newly-elected chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Shaharyar M. Khan said on Friday that Pakistan cricket has been going downhill of late due to a flawed domestic cricket structure and his first priority will be to revamp it and make it more competitive to bring it at par with the leading cricketing nations like Australia, South Africa and India.

Addressing a crowded media conference at the National Stadium on Friday, Shaharyar said: “Honestly, if you ask my opinion, I would straightaway say that the whole system has flaws that would be rectified in the due course of time to improve the state of the [domestic] set-up so that we produce a chain of talented cricketers who would have a chance to be stars of tomorrow.”

While observing that almost every chairman during the past decades has tried his hand at revamping the domestic cricket set-up according to his own plans, there is a definite need to organise it on a tougher and more competitive lines in order to produce top class cricketers.

‘Downsizing imperative in PCB, says chairman

“I have met several players and experts during this week including skipper Misbah-ul-Haq, head coach Waqar Younis, chief selector Moin Khan and others and all of them feel that the real problem lies with our domestic structure which requires an overhaul,” said the chairman.

“Favouritism and nepotism also have to be weeded out to ensure deserving cricketers are not denied their due rights.”

The PCB chairman further added that he is ready to face the criticism for the sake of improving Pakistan cricket. “Of course, I won’t mind if there is criticism. During my visit here Rashid Latif and Mohsin Khan also came for a chat and I welcomed their suggestions because our main objective is to improve Pakistan cricket and make it stronger.”

Touching on another important aspect of over-staffing in the PCB, Shaharyar said the Board currently has more employees than it requires and will undergo a process of downsizing to cut down superfluous spending.

“There is no doubt that at the moment there are far too many people attached with the PCB who are a surplus. I’m obviously not happy with the existing scenario,” said Shaharyar rather candidly. “I think it is imperative to downsize the PCB staff for the better.Over the years the number of people working in the board have always increased whenever a new chairman has come in. This trend must be stopped.”

“On the few occasions the board tried to cut down the number of employees, some of them even went as far as the Supreme Court and were subsequently got reinstated in their respective jobs.”

The 80-year-old Shaharyar, the first person to head the cricket board for a second time, declared that the PCB would engage a consultant firm before initiating the move to downsize the staff.

“To help us out we will be engaging professional people to assess the working of the board because I feel there are few departments [within the board set-up] which are of no use,” he stressed. But let me also assure you that it [downsizing] won’t be done in a discriminatory manner and no deserving individual would be asked to leave if his presence is still useful for the PCB.

Replying to a query regarding the appointment of a Twenty20 captain of national team, the PCB chairman said the announcement could well be made in the next week or so.

Shaharyar also hinted at some strict action against firebrand opener Ahmed Shehzad for his outburst against Sri Lanka’s Tillakaratne Dilshan during the recent series. “Let me tell you clearly that such things will just not be tolerated by the PCB,” he said. “Ahmed flouted his Central Contract terms which clearly state that no religious comments or remarks be made on the field in any circumstances. A committee will be looking into the matter and give its report soon.”

Taking note of Pakistan’s defeats on the tour of Sri Lanka last month, the PCB chief claimed that he has identified five key elements that could aid in improving the national team’s performance. “Batting, bowling, fielding and talent are four attributes normally associated with the team but in my book I have added crisis management as the fifth factor,” Shaharyar emphasised.

“Unfortunately, there are a few players in the [current] senior team who are unable to handle things when the team is facing crisis. We must improve this shortcoming for the sterner tests in the coming months.”

“And then there are some players who may not be that talented or God-gifted but who still are able to tackle the crisis. This is why I rate Fawad Alam so high as a fighting cricketer. This boy doesn’t have the virtues that could classify him as a stylish player but there is no shortage of courage and fighting spirit in Fawad who has repeatedly done wonderfully in pressure situations since his comeback,” observed Shaharyar.

Shaharyar also revealed that he had no desire to head the cricket board but the afflicting circumstances with the long legal battle between Najam Sethi and Zaka Ashraf compelled him to take over.

“When I was in the board [from December 2003 to October 2006] I was then a nominated chief, but now I’m an elected chairman although I had no wish to head the PCB. As per the new constitution of the board, my desire is to bring in a culture of democracy. Accountability, transparency, stability and continuity would be my foremost priorities,” said the chairman.

“No autocratic decision will be taken and every step would be taken to run the board as laid down in the constitution; all the decisions would be unanimously taken with the consent of the governing body,” he pledged.

Dispelling the general perception that he would only be a chairman in name, Shaharyar stated that he would be the ‘real’ boss. “Let me tell you all that my actions will be loud and clear and time will decide this.”

When asked if former PCB chairman Najam Sethi’s presence as the head of the Executive Committee in any way undermines his powers, Shaharyar said he (Sethi) has been assigned a certain role and in no way does that interefers with the working of the PCB chief.

The PCB chief was flanked by governing board members former Test spinner Iqbal Qasim and KCCA president Prof Ejaz Faruqi as well as PCB media director Amjad Hussain and GM media Agha Akbar.

Published in Dawn, September 6th, 2014