How the fight with BCCI led PCB to remove Ramiz Raja from his chairman’s post
In a major change in Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) administration, Ramiz Raja has been reportedly fired from the post of chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) a day after the team suffered a humiliating Test series defeat at the hands of England at their home soil.
England wrapped up the Test series Test on Tuesday to hand Pakistan their first-ever 3-0 home series clean sweep.
The board has decided to appoint Najam Sethi as the new chairman of the country’s cricket body which is expected to run the affairs of the game for the next four months.
However, the notification, issued by Shehbaz Sharif (Pakistan’s Prime Minister), has to be approved by the federal cabinet, which is just a mere formality. According to reports, Ramiz Raja’s spat with the BCCI prompted the PCB to show him the exit door.
Ramiz Raja, who is also a member of former prime minister Imran Khan’s 1992 World Cup-winning side was appointed by him to head the board in September 2021 and he served as PCB chairman for 15 months. Since April, a change had been already on the cards, when Imran Khan was ousted as prime minister and replaced by Shehbaz Sharif.
Multiple news reports say that Ramiz Raja had threatened to boycott the ODI World Cup in India next year to exert pressure on the Indian board to send its team to Pakistan to participate in the Asia Cup.
The reports also indicated that Raja has told ICC officials that no decision has been taken in this regard yet.
Ramiz Raja has been in the limelight of criticism for some time now and faced severe backlash from the fans and the media especially after he engaged himself in a war of words with the BCCI and things haven’t ended well for him.
Ramiz Raja who is replaced by Sethi became only the fourth former Pakistan international cricketer to head the PCB after Abdul Hafeez Kardar (1972-1977), Javed Burki (1994-1995), and Ijaz Butt (2008-2011). As a cricketer, he represented his country in 255 international matches (Tests – 57 and ODIs – 198 between 1984 -1997) and racked up 8,674 runs.
Now, a new 14-member committee headed by Najam Sethi which will also include the former Pakistan cricket stars Shahid Afridi and Sana Mir (former captains of the men’s and women’s teams) to be placed before the Pakistan cabinet for approval ending days of speculation about the future of the current board.
Sethi has served as the head of PCB in various positions between the years 2003 and 2018. He was also the first chairman of the Pakistan Super League and oversaw the conception of the league in 2016. His committee will now have a four-month period during which they’ll be tasked with restoring the PCB constitution to its 2014 version.
The committee will have only 120 days to change the constitution and elect a new chairman.
Congratulations again and again! pic.twitter.com/hO7tYsuFfr
— Najam Sethi (@najamsethi) December 21, 2022
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
“If the Pakistan team doesn’t take part in the upcoming World Cup which is scheduled in India next year, then who is going to watch it? It is clear, if the Indian team comes here (Pakistan) then we (the Pakistan team) will go there for the World Cup. If they don’t come then let them play without Pakistan in the World Cup. We will adopt an aggressive approach. Pakistan team is showing performance and we need to improve the economy of Pakistan cricket which is possible only when we perform well. We beat India in the 2021 T20 World Cup and the T20 Asia Cup. In one year, the Pakistan cricket team defeated a billion-dollar economy team twice,” Ramiz Raja said to Urdu media.
There were already strained political relations between the two countries, and now a dispute between the two cricket boards – Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) and Pakistan Cricket Board over the 2023 Asia Cup and 2023 World Cup will only make things hard for the fans who always wait for the India Pakistan match.
Pakistan is due to host the Asia Cup next September however, BCCI secretary Jay Shah said that India will not travel to Pakistan and has suggested that the tournament be staged at a neutral venue in response, PCB chief Raja said that if India pulled out or it was moved, then Pakistan would not play in the 50-over World Cup in India, which starts a month later.
