PCB just following ICC ‘guidelines’: Tafazzul Rizvi

ISLAMABAD - The International Cricket Council’s warning to Pakistan for implementation of specific measures to overcome flaws in the country’s cricket within next 30 days were in fact ‘guidelines’ usually suggested to all of its members, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has claimed.

On October 6, the ICC had issued a strict warning to the PCB to implement a series of measures to solve problems faced by the country’s cricket or “risk sanctions,” the Dawn reported.

However, PCB’s legal adviser Tafazzul Rizvi disagreed over the same, saying, “There was no mention of sanctions, instead, they were the guidelines suggested by the ICC and we will be mirroring it in our domestic cricket structure.”

He also insisted that the ICC never warned PCB Chairman Ijaz Butt that his membership would be suspended. “We are very responsible board member of the ICC and are aware of our position and stature at the international sporting level,” the board’s legal advisor added.

While the federal officials in Islamabad revealed that the ICC’s recent warning was the last nail in the coffin of the sitting PCB management, Tafazzul, the man who has been assisting PCB’s legal battle, both at home and abroad, has claimed that “the domestic rules along with a code of conduct was already in place.

“The ICC is the primary regulator of the sport and forwards advice to its members and our initiative was meant at elevating the domestic structure of cricket,” he added.

Tafazzul said that the board’s current steps were aimed at bringing Pakistan’s domestic cricket at par with the domestic cricket of top cricket nations like Australia and England. (ANI)