LAHORE: While three members of Pakistan Cricket Board’s interim Management Committee, former Pakistan captain Shahid Afridi, former women’s captain Sana Mir and Arif Saeed, have resigned citing lack of time to attend meetings, chief selector Haroon Rashid has been brought back into the MC which has raised questions over conflict of interest.

MC chairman Najam Sethi told Dawn on Wednesday that Afridi in the very first MC meeting, held at Lahore in December, had expre­ssed his non-availability for MC meetings and later Sana and Arif followed the suit.

The chairman added that Haroon, who was a member of the 14-member MC but later resigned after being appointed chairman of the selection committee in place of Afridi, was also taken back into the MC. So, Haroon would continue to play the dual role (as MC member and chief selector).

“Currently, while two Mana­gement Committee positions [Sana, Afridi] are vacant, Malik Zulfiqar [former Sialkot region president] has been included in the MC,” the chairman said.

Responding to a question if the induction of Haroon, who was the chief selector, as MC member was a conflict of interest, Sethi said a consultation in this regard was held with the officials concerned, adding “it was found there is no conflict of interest”.

Interestingly, when Sethi announced Haroon as chief selector during a press conference last week in Lahore, he had agreed while responding to a question that it was a conflict of interest and that was why Haroon had resigned from the MC to work as chief selector.

According to Sethi, PCB patron Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif would announce the names of the members in place of Afridi and Arif to complete the 14-member MC, which was formed to restore the 2014 PCB Constitution in 120 days.

Meanwhile, Sethi said the PM would also announce the name of chief election commissioner who would hold the election of PCB chairman after the tenure of the MC ends. The tenure started on Dec 21.

He said it had been decided to reinstate three former deputy election commissioners to start the process of holding elections at district and regional cricket associations, which was mandatory before the election of PCB chairman for a three-year term.

Meanwhile, Sethi said good news was coming about the interest of the departments in restoring their cricket teams.

It may be mentioned here that after the PM restored the 2014 PCB Constitution, under which four representatives of regional cricket associations and four from departments have to make the PCB Board of Governors which will elect the next PCB chairman.

Published in Dawn, February 2nd, 2023