Najam Sethi vows to improve Pakistan cricket after appointment as PCB chief

Pakistan prime minister Shehbaz Sharif nominated a 14-member management committee to run the affairs of the PCB after the sacking of Ramiz Raja on Wednesday. The news came after Pakistan's abysmal Test series whitewash at home, their first ever, at the hands of Ben Stokes' England. Former cricket administrator Najam Sethi, who replaced the former cricketer as the chairman, has vowed to revive cricket at the grassroots level in the country.

Najam Sethi, who had previously served as the head of the PCB before resigning following the arrival of Imran Khan, is determined to give a new direction to the board and has vowed to revive first-class cricket in the country amidst all the glitz and glamour of T20 franchise leagues. Sethi will be in charge of the affairs of the country’s cricket body up until the cricket board election, which is scheduled to take place within the next four months.

The former chairman of the Pakistan Super League (PSL) compiled a stern message for the public, stating the restoration of the 2014 PCB constitution, followed by the departure of Ramiz Raja. The recently axed Ramiz Raja was appointed for the high-profile post on the recommendation of then prime minister Imran Khan in September 2021. 

"The cricket regime headed by Ramiz Raja is no more. The 2014 PCB constitution stands restored. The Management Committee will work tirelessly to revive first-class cricket. Thousands of cricketers will be employed again. The famine in cricket will come to an end,” Sethi wrote in his tweet.

The cricket regime headed by Ramiz Raja @iramizraja is no more. The 2014 PCB constitution stands restored. The Management Committee will work tirelessly to revive first class cricket. Thousands of cricketers will be employed again. The famine in cricket will come to an end.

— Najam Sethi (@najamsethi) December 21, 2022

The 14-member body that will see over the proceedings in the board includes Shakil Sheikh (ex-PCB BoG), Gul Zada (former PCB BoG) Nauman Butt (former PCB BoG), ex-Test cricketers Haroon Rashid, Shahid Khan Afridi, and Shafqat Rana, Sana Mir (former Pakistan women team’s captain), Aized Syed (former PCB director NHPC), Tanvir Ahmed (ex-president Larkana Region), Advocate Supreme Court Mustafa Ramday and Chaudhry Arif Saeed (CEO Service Industries).