The lonely world of PCB Chairman

In a country like Pakistan where there is a political turmoil always around the corner, some posts are symbolic, just like the presidency and governorship. Some are critical to running the government affairs such as Prime Minister, Chief Ministers whereas some the believed to be the real power centres; i.e the judiciary and the head of the armed forces.

However, one post other than the ones mentioned above holds a lot of weightage and is always in the centre of discussion in the public domain and that post is of the chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB).

Many believe that it is the fourth most powerful post in the country after the Chief of The Army Staff, Chief Justice of Pakistan and the Prime Minister.

The post is currently held by Ramiz Hasan Raja who was elected as the 36th head of the cricket board on September 13, 2021, replacing Ehsan Mani whose tenure came to an end.

The meeting

During the third Test of the recently concluded series between Pakistan and Australia in Lahore, I had a chance to have a one-on-one interview with Ramiz Raja. The meeting took place in the office of the PCB chairman.

During that interview, which was very candid, Ramiz made some interesting claims about what’s happening behind the scenes in the building which is responsible for all the cricketing activities in the country.

While that meeting was a short one, it was enough for me to gather a sense of how isolated the chairman of the PCB is when they are in charge. They have no sense of what’s happening on the ground or how people perceive what they are doing. They are in their bubble, which no one can burst until the time runs out.

Ramiz looked like a man miles away from reality. He hardly had any idea of what people are talking about him behind his back.

“A good man giving bad advice is more dangerous than a nasty man giving bad advice,” was the quote of former Minister for Posts and Telegraphs of Ireland Conor Cruise O’Brien, something which suits perfectly on how people who want to stay in good books of the higherups works. They will agree with whatever you come up with but will never portray a good picture.

It was clear that people close to him only tell him what they believe he wants to hear and not the words which are good for the sport in general.

The Political turmoil:

One thing we all know about Pakistan politics is that no one knows anything about Pakistan politics. Things can change in a matter of days or even hours where allies become enemies and adversities of the past are forgotten to form a new alliance.

The same thing happened at the start of April when Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI)-led coalition government was toppled by a Vote of No Confidence (VONC) in the parliament.

The move was the first successful attempt in the history of the country where a government is removed through a VONC.

Since the Prime Minister is the Patron of the PCB, his removal sparked uncertainty in the corridors of the cricketing body in the country.

What’s happening now: 

Rumours are in full flow about the future of Ramiz as the head of the PCB. While officially, the former opening batter has continued to work but as per some reports on social media, Najam Sethi is in the reckoning of replacing the former captain in his post.

The wrong: 

PCB claims to be an independent institution and takes pride in spreading the narrative but over the years, time and again, once a chairman leaves so do a lot of important members depart as well by either resigning willingly or they are forced to resign.

When Sethi departed and was replaced by Ehsan Mani following the arrival of the PTI government in 2018, the likes of Subhan Ahmed, who was a part of the PCB’s bureaucratic setup, resigned from their respective post.

The same happened when Ramiz replaced Mani as the PCB Chairman in 2021 and soon after, the likes of Chief Executive Officer Wasim Khan, General Manager Commercial Imran Ahmad Khan and others resigned for different reasons.

Those development does not leave an impression of a professional organisation where regardless of the change of person, the whole machinery continues to work to achieve the overall goal.

Instead, it makes PCB look like a government-run organisation where the whole structure is changed once the head is replaced.

It is because of this reason many believe that once Imran Khan was removed as the Prime Minister, the newly adopted six-team domestic structure will be overhauled and departmental teams will return with the return of Sethi in charge.

Ramiz’s departure looks increasingly likely with the passing of every day, some of his ideas are well-worth praising, such as the proposal to organise the U19-level Pakistan Super League (PSL) type competition or the idea of starting a Women’s PSL as well.

While many can agree or disagree with how things were done during the short reign of Ramiz, it is paramount now that PCB as an organisation starts to distance itself from what’s happening in the field of politics.

It shouldn’t matter who is in charge at the very top. PCB should be always about cricket and only cricket and nothing else.