LAHORE: Transparency credentials of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) in connection with keeping employees’ service records have hit a low after the Board failed to attain educational degrees of two of its top officials.

The delaying tactics on part of the two top officials in submitting their degrees and the concomitant lax behaviour of the PCB towards them augment the view that the two officials in question don’t possess the required degrees.

Surprisingly, instead of taking swift action, the Board of Governors has been favouring them by giving more time in submitting their educational records. The BoGs in its last meeting held in the first week of June had given them six more months despite the fact that six months had already lapsed in this regard.

Two other officials namely Aizad Said (Director Game Development) and Zakir Khan (who is currently considered as OSD but in the past remained Director International and manager national junior team) have deposited their degrees which are in the process of verification.

Nonetheless, two more top officials in Director Marketing namely Naila Bhatti and General Manager International Cricket Usman Wahla are yet to submit their degrees.

It also deserves a mention that both Naila and Usman are currently in the UAE in connection with finalizing the arrangements for hosting the West Indies at the neutral venues of the UAE.

Nepotism and favoritism have so much pervaded all ranks in the PCB that it hardly bothers to collect all the necessary documents from its employees before recruiting them.

“Yes, they did not submit their degrees at the time of appointment as there are no hard and fast rules in the PCB to collect such documents,” sources at the PCB confided in this scribe, adding: “Very powerful and influential persons are always behind such top officials seeking top posts in the PCB.”

Published in Dawn, June 26th, 2016