KARACHI: Former captain Zaheer Abbas has termed his nomination for the presidency of the International Cricket Council (ICC) as a great honour for Pakistan and himself.

The 67-year-old Zaheer, while talking to Dawn shortly after being nominated by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) following Monday’s announcement of Najam Sethi withdrawing his candidature, described the decision as recognition of his services for the country.

“I’m flattered to be honest at being nominated by the Pakistan Cricket Board for the prestigious ICC post. Indeed, it’s a great honour for both Pakistan and myself because this will give us a chance to express more candidly at the international forum,” Zaheer said on Tuesday.

“As a former cricketer, this position will give me an opportunity to promote the game. I’m highly indebted to the PCB chairman [Shaharyar M. Khan] for picking me for the privileged position.”

Zaheer, popularly acclaimed around the globe as the ‘Asian Bradman’ because of his stupendous batting feats that saw him become the only Pakistani to score 100 centuries in first-class cricket, further pointed out that the sport will benefit from such nominations. “Although this post is regarded as ceremonial, what really fascinates me most is that as the first cricketer to be named as the ICC president, I can help in creating a different environment where the promotion of the game will be treated as the top priority,” he said. “This is something which was previously missing in the ICC. Cricket needs former players in key positions to run the sport more efficiently.”

During an illustrious career from 1969-70 until 1985, the elegant right-hander scored 5062 runs in 78 Test with 12 centuries, including four double tons, and another 2572 runs in 62 One-day Internationals with the help of seven hundreds.

Sialkot-born Zaheer, one of the finest batsmen produced by the country who acted as a principal advisor when Sethi was the PCB chief, pledged to campaign for Pakistan cricket during his ICC stint.

“As a Pakistani, one of my priorities is to promote our case globally. International cricket made a welcome return to Pakistan just recently with Zimbabwe ending the isolation. But there is much more to be done in order to make other countries realise that Pakistan is safe for cricket,” Zaheer added. “More efforts are needed in that regard to win their confidence and I think my presence in the ICC ranks would benefit Pakistan in many ways.

“During parleys, there will be opportunities for myself to mingle with representatives of other cricket-playing nations and request them to send their teams to Pakistan. The cricket fans wholeheartedly welcomed Zimbabwe during the short trip to Lahore and Pakistan will always open its doors for the rest of the cricketing world to play on our home soil.”

Published in Dawn, June 3rd, 2015

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