LAHORE: The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has appointed Aizad Sayid the game development director at the National Cricket Academy.

It is the first time when a person who never played a Test for Pakistan is given this responsibility.

Confirming the development, Aizad told Dawn on Friday that he would not be taking salary from the PCB for the post.

When reminded that was not a post for a non-Test cricketer, Aizad said he was selected after being interviewed by PCB chairman Shaharyar Khan and PCB Governing Board’s executive committee chairman Najam Sethi.

He added the post was a challenge for him and he would try his best to produce two to three Test cricketers of top class during one year.

“I will work with all cricketers to achieve my target. We will not indulge in politics of any kind against anyone. I will be open for all kinds of suggestions,” he said.

Aizad had run the Lahore Region Cricket Association (LRCA) as its ad hoc president in 2013-14. The Region earned several laurels in one year. It won the National T20 Tournament besides winning the finals of both three-day and one-day under-19 national tournaments.

In the Quaid-i-Azam Trophy, the Region won the One-day title (Silver League) and played the four-day final, too.

Though Aizad was a candidate at Lahore Region’s last polls, he did not get support from the PCB and later decided not to contest the elections.

The previous game development directors — Mudassar Nazar, Aamir Sohail, Intikhab Alam, Haroon Rashid and Moin Khan — were not only Test cricketers but handsomely paid as well.

The post had been lying vacant for the last three months and now Aizad would be the first non-Test cricketer to run it.

It seems the PCB is giving more importance to non-Test cricketers to run its affairs. It has recently constituted a four-member governing body for holding the first Pakistan Super League which has no cricketer. Its members are Najam Sethi, Subhan Ahmed, Naila Bhatti (marketing director) and Salman Sarwar Butt.

Interestingly, Naila Bhatti, who had been appointed general manager marketing just a couple of months ago, was elevated to the post of marketing director.

A good number of senior general managers are still working on their same post since last many years while Naila found a place in the PSL organizing body.

International cricketer director Zakir Khan should also have been included in the governing body.

Another big blow to the cricketers is also in the offing as no one from them will be on the PCB’s governing board as the only Test cricketer Iqbal Qasim has retired from his parent organisation National Bank of Pakistan.

According to reports, the bank is considering to send its president in the Governing Board in place of Iqbal Qasim.

The PCB’s cricket committee is also being run by a non-Test cricketer Shakil Sheikh as chairman while two well-known cricketers Intikhab Alam and Iqbal Qasim are its members.

Moreover, in the recently prepared model constitution prepared by the PCB, no guideline is given to the regions to form the regional selection committee.

Published in Dawn, July 11th, 2015

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