PM Shehbaz Sharif approves Najam Sethi’s appointment as PCB chairman

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has approved the appointment of former journalist Najam Sethi as the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman and removal of incumbent Ramiz Raja, Geo News reported Wednesday citing sources.

Officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said that the Prime Minister Office will release four notifications related to the appointment. 

They said one notification will be issued notifying the abolishment of the 2019 constitution of the cricket board.

The other will then notify the termination of the two names nominated for the chairmanship under the 2019 constitution. The third notification then will announce to restore the 2014 constitution.

The fourth notification then will notify the establishment of a “set up” to run the existing board.

Reports of Raja’s replacement as the PCB chairman had circulated a few times in the past, however, he had rejected the claims and maintained he was not “going anywhere”.

Later, it was also reported that the incumbent government had decided to sack the current PCB chairman.

However, Raja had called PCB staffers to tell them that he had gotten a “green signal” from the government to continue working.

“I have been told to continue working as [the] PCB chairman,” Raja had told PCB staffers.

The former Pakistan captain was elected as the chairman of the cricket board unopposed on September 13, 2021, during the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government.

The PCB’s top post had fallen vacant after Ehsan Mani stepped down following the completion of his three-year term.