LAHORE: Najam Sethi has vowed to improve domestic cricket after getting elected as the new chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB).

Addressing his first press conference after being elected unopposed for the term of 2017-2020 by the Board of Governors here on Wednesday, Sethi said, “My main target is to make domestic cricket strong because the country has abundance of talent but it is not being tapped well.”

He added that resumption of international cricket in Pakistan was also his goal.

“The Pakistan Super League (PSL) has started to attract international players to Pakistan but more efforts are required to bring international teams to the country.”

Sethi further said, “ICC World XI’s visit to Lahore next month is on the cards, other than this, there is also a proposal to bring Sri Lankan cricket team to Pakistan for a couple of matches after playing the full series in the UAE, next month.

“I am leaving for Sri Lanka on Thursday to attend the Asian Cricket Council meeting in which the decision of holding the next Asia Under-19 World Cup either in India or at any neutral venue will be discussed.

“Besides, I will also discuss the proposal with Sri Lanka to come and play some matches in Pakistan after the full series in the UAE.”

Sethi said he was not in a position to announce the exact dates of ICC XI’s visit for security reasons but the move was on.

“We held a teleconference with the ICC on Thursday and discussed many things about the visit. Andy Flower (former Zimbabwe captain) is acting as the manager of the ICC team and he will announce the names of the visiting ICC World XI after getting security clearance.

“At the moment, the tour looks certain.”

To a question, he said, “We are moving forward diplomatically and legally to win the case against India to pay us compensation for not resuming bilateral series despite signing a contract in 2014.

“They say their government is not allowing them but we are contesting the case at the ICC. I think we will play a bilateral series as soon as political relations between the two countries improve.”

The chairman said he was thankful to all members of the BoGs who elected him unanimously.

“I am also thankful to former PCB chairman Mr Shaharyar Khan. There were several people who believed that there will be differences between Shaharyar and I but I want to make it clear that I have great respect for Shaharyar. We achieved so much only because we never created hurdles for each other.”

Sethi went on to say, “I am proud of our cricketers and I also request the media to support them. Though we won the Champions Trophy, we still need to work hard. Wins and defeats are parts of the game.”

He said development programme and PSL would discover new talent for the country. “New academies have been set up that would start functioning under Mudassar Nazar soon.”

He said infrastructure of the Gaddafi Stadium would be improved and the PCB had constructed a beautiful building at the College End of the Stadium.

“We are also working to build a new building at the Cricket House, which is not in good condition. It will also generate financial resources,” he said.

The chairman said he was disappointed with the performance of the women team but he had ideas to bring improvement in their performance.

He disclosed that all previous committees of the BoGs had been dissolved and new ones would be named soon.

About the executive committee, Sethi said, “It was formed on the request of Mr Shaharyar Khan, who wanted to share his workload so I accepted that role. But now, as I have to oversee everything, there is no need left for the committee.”

He said the services of national team physio Shane Hayes were being terminated while the rest of the team management would remain the same.

To a question, he said at least two cricketers would be inducted into the BoGs and in the next meeting, the names of the cricketers would be selected.

He made it clear that those officials who had not impressed with their performance in the past would not be hired again by him. “I will give priority to merit and hire professionals with high education.”

He claimed regional bodies had no objection over the new system of players draft, adopted to pick the teams for the upcoming Quaid-i-Azam Trophy.

Sethi said the petition filed in a court against his election had been dismissed and it made no difference whether the PCB was headed by the president or the prime minister.

He thanked former PCB chairmen and Pakistan captains who hailed his election as the PCB chairman.

The newly-elected PCB chief said the trio of celebrated retired cricketers Misbah-ul-Haq, Younis Khan and Shahid Afridi would be given a rousing farewell by the PCB.

He advised journalists to forget the Justice Qayyum report on match fixing and looked forward. “Many people believe that cricketers who were penalized in the report were their heroes.”

He said the PCB-appointed tribunal was working professionally in the spot-fixing case and its decision would hardly be challenged by cricketers in a court.

Other than Sethi, who attended the meeting were: Arif Ejaz, retired Lt Gen Muzamil Hussain (Wapda), Nauman Dar (Habib Bank), Miftah Ismail (SSGC), Mansoor Masood Khan (UBL, via Skype), Khawaja Nadeem (Lahore), Murad Ismail (Quetta) and Nauman Butt (Sialkot).

Published in Dawn, August 10th, 2017