Under fire, Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman Ijaz Butt has told President Asif Ali Zardari he could not attend a parliamentary panel meeting on the participation of Pakistani players in the Indian Premier League (IPL) due to a pre-arranged appointment "of a highly sensitive nature".
According to a report in The News daily on Saturday, Butt explained why he and other top PCB officials skipped a meeting of the National Assembly’s Standing Committee on Sports held in Islamabad on Thursday.
Jamshed Dasti, the committee’s chairman, was so furious over what he termed the non-serious approach of the PCB that he demanded that Butt and his team be sacked.
"I believe that the committee was offended because of my absence from the meeting that it asked Subhan Ahmed, Senior GM International, to leave without an opportunity to explain and discuss the two items pertaining to PCB,” Butt wrote in his letter to Zardari.
"My absence was because of a pre-arranged meeting on Dec 17 of my own company on a business of a highly sensitive nature,” added Butt.
"In my absence, normally our COO Wasim Bari attends the meetings. However, Bari had to proceed to Abbottabad for the opening ceremony of Shaheed Benazir Bhutto tournament. Next in line was our director International Zakir Khan who is undergoing treatment for hernia and hence could not travel to Islamabad," Butt wrote.
{{/usCountry}}"In my absence, normally our COO Wasim Bari attends the meetings. However, Bari had to proceed to Abbottabad for the opening ceremony of Shaheed Benazir Bhutto tournament. Next in line was our director International Zakir Khan who is undergoing treatment for hernia and hence could not travel to Islamabad," Butt wrote.
{{/usCountry}}"I sent Subhan Ahmed for this meeting as the most important item on the agenda was that of IPL. Subhan is updated with all the developments regarding the matter. He would have been able to give a comprehensive update to the committee. Regrettably, no opportunity was granted to him at the meeting, rather he in an unceremonious way was told to leave,” Butt added.
He also took strong note of corruption allegations hurled at the PCB by the sports committee.
"The PCB regrets to note the committee's allegation on corruption... If there is any evidence/proof to support the committee’s statement on corruption in the current PCB, then we will only be too pleased to look at the same and respond," Butt maintained.
He also hit back at his critics, who believe that the aging board chief is not good enough to run Pakistani cricket in an efficient manner.