ISLAMABAD: Zaka Ashraf on Thursday took charge as the head of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) management committee, the PCB said, a day after his appointment by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.
The PCB management committee head’s post fell vacant after former PCB management committee chief Najam Sethi pulled out of the race to be elected the new chairman of the cricket board.
The prime minister, who is the patron of the PCB, appoints its chairman — a move that has often been criticized by cricket analysts and experts who believe the board should run independently.
“Zaka Ashraf on Thursday morning assumed charge as the Chair of the PCB Management Committee,” the PCB said early Thursday, adding he would chair the first meeting of the PCB management committee the same day at the National Cricket Academy.
Ashraf was favorite to become chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board last month but the PCB had to postpone that election after the formation of its board of governors — which elects the new chairman — was challenged in multiple courts around the country.
On Wednesday, the Pakistan government appointed a new 10-member PCB management committee, including Ashraf, for a period of four months.
Other members of the committee are Kalim Ullah Khan, Ashfaq Akhtar, Muhammad Mussadiq Islam, Azmat Pervez, Zaheer Abbas, Khurram Karim Somroo, Khawaja Nadeem, Mustafa Ramday and Zulfiqar Malik.
