PCB management akin to “Ali Baba and 40 thieves”: Pak UK High Commissioner

ISLAMABAD - Pakistan’s High Commissioner to England, Wajid Shamsul Hasan, called the current Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) management “Ali Baba and 40 thieves”, the National Assembly’s Standing Committee on Sports revealed in its meeting, which was convened to discuss Pakistan’s recent tour of England and the spot-fixing scandal, among other issues.

Iqbal Muhammad Ali, the chairman of the Parliament Standing Committee, had in his possession the letter written by Wajid to President Asif Ali Zardari about the PCB mismanagement, The News reported.

“Look here,” Iqbal said while brandishing the letter, and went on to reveal that Wajid had demanded the removal of the present PCB management, and requested for bringing in fresh and energetic people who could guide and help Pakistan cricket to flourish.

The High Commissioner had also called the PCB management as “Ali Baba and 40 thieves”, declaring that they were least bothered and left the High Commission on their own, when the crunch time came during the spot-fixing row in England, he disclosed.

“Wajid Shamsul Hasan has given every account of what happened and so disgusted was he on the attitude and behaviour of the PCB official that he had requested the patron for changes in the set-up to save the country’s cricket future,” Iqbal said.

The committee unleashed scathing criticism on the Ijaz Butt-ruled PCB for its slackness and failure to tackle the alleged spot-fixing scam involving key Pakistani cricketers.

“The PCB is a one-man show where every decision, no matter how trivial it is, needs the approval of Ijaz Butt. The dummy governing board and its members have got no authority as they follow Ijaz Butt’s orders heads down,” Iqbal pointed out.

“Besides the members of the National Assembly and Senate, cricket fans have also demanded the resignation of Ijaz Butt. The only thing yet to happen in this regard is the demand of Ijaz Butt’s resignation from his own family members,” the committee head went on to say.

The committee members also expressed surprise that no General Council meeting had been convened for the last two years, and that the last Governing Board meeting was held almost four months back.

“The PCB chairman is running the board as his personal state. According to a constitutional clause, the General Council meeting is must at least once a year. No such meeting has been convened so far for the last two years, clearly violating the rules,” Iqbal noted.

Likewise, he also criticized the Governing Board, declaring its members deaf and dumb. “The Governing Board has never been taken into confidence and even if the PCB chairman convened the board meeting, no member has the courage to speak against the one-man rule. They just follow what Ijaz Butt says,” he claimed.

MNA Begum Naseem Akhtar Chaudhry, while declaring the PCB chairman as ‘cancer of Pakistan cricket’, said, “The sooner we get rid of him, the better it would be for the game’s health.”

Yesterday, Iqbal had said, “We are meeting tomorrow to decide on the course of action,” adding that the “members would not hesitate to resign, if Ijaz Butt did not step down in next 24 hours.” (ANI)