Najam Sethi took Pakistan cricket by storm in Tuesday as he effectively stepped down from his role as head of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) after withdrawing from the race to become the next chairman of the board. Sethi was so far the head of the interim management committee of PCB since December last year with a tenure only till June 21.
Sethi was expected to be named as the new chairman of the board but over the last few weeks there have been reports the return of Zaka Ashraf, also a former PCB chairman himself. Although there have been no official news about Ashraf, but Sethi is no longer to continue with his role.
"I don't want to be a bone of contention between Asif Zardari and Shehbaz Sharif," Sethi tweeted. “Such instability and uncertainty is not good for PCB. Under the circumstances I am not a candidate for Chairmanship of PCB. Good luck to all stakeholders.”
ALSO READ: 'I couldn’t take it anymore. I hated the fact...': Ashwin breaks silence on explosive tweet after WTC final omission
The tweet also sheds light on the long-standing political scenario that pertains to the chairman's seat. Usually, it come through a reccomendation from the Prime Minister. Hence, in this case, it would be someone appointed by Shehbaz Sharif and his Pakistan Muslim League - Nawaz (PML-N) party. The part where Ashraf comes into the scenario is that he is from Pakistan People's Party, the coalition partner in Pakistan's current government. PPP feels that with them being in charge of sports in Pakistan, they have their man as the chairman of PCB.
{{/usCountry}}The tweet also sheds light on the long-standing political scenario that pertains to the chairman's seat. Usually, it come through a reccomendation from the Prime Minister. Hence, in this case, it would be someone appointed by Shehbaz Sharif and his Pakistan Muslim League - Nawaz (PML-N) party. The part where Ashraf comes into the scenario is that he is from Pakistan People's Party, the coalition partner in Pakistan's current government. PPP feels that with them being in charge of sports in Pakistan, they have their man as the chairman of PCB.
{{/usCountry}}Sethi has been running the PCB since Ramiz Raja was removed as the chairman. In his six-months stint, the management oversaw the hiring of Mickey Arthur as the part-time director of cricket. One of the most significant part of the tenure also involved the hosting of the Asia Cup and Pakistan's participation in the 2023 World Cup. The latter will remain a major issue for the next chairman with Pakistan yet to officially announce their stance over World Cup participation.