Is the game all over for beleaguered PCB boss Butt?

LAHORE - Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman Ijaz Butt is scheduled to return to his country today, amid rumours that the government has decided to sack him after a string of controversies surrounding the national team, the most recent being the spot-fixing scandal.

According to sources, there might be some announcements coming from the President’s secretariat in the next 48 hours, as President Asif Ali Zardari is also the chief patron of the board, the Daily Times reported.

They revealed that changes were definitely in the offing in the cricket set up, but it was not clear what these changes might be.

“There is talk about the federal minister for defence, Chaudary Mukhtar Ahmed, having held a meeting with the President recently in which the future of Ijaz was discussed, since the two of them are closely related to each other and Mukhtar is said to have played a key role in getting Ijaz the key post in the first place two years ago,” one source disclosed.

Meanwhile, an insider in the government pointed out that Ijaz, whose tenure expires this month, would be told to request the President to relieve him of the board duties due to his ill health.

“Let us see what happens, but definitely the situation is not very good for Ijaz, and the President has been advised to instantly form an ad-hoc committee of technocrats and senior officials to run cricket affairs until the 2011 World Cup,” the source added.

But another source insisted that Ijaz had been given a deadline of October 10 to either restructure his team in the board within the given time frame, or step down as the head of the cricket set-up.

Ever since the spot fixing scandal broke out on Pakistan team’s tour to England, former players and critics have all blamed Butt for mishandling the entire affair.

Pakistan’s National Assembly’s Standing Committee on Sports has also summoned Butt along with the national team coaches, manager and the chief selector for a hearing on October 11, in order to discuss the disastrous England tour.

“The committee wants to know the reasons for the shoddy performances and also how the Pakistan team got entangled into such serious controversies. We also want to know the reason for Butt’s statement against the England board and his U-turn and to review the selection process,” disclosed Iqbal Muhammad Ali, the chairman of the committee. (ANI)