PCB considering administrative shake-up

LAHORE: The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) is considering re-establishing the post of director for international and domestic cricket operations, with Aamer Sohail, Haroon Rasheed and Iqbal Qasim the three shortlisted candidates. The post was abolished last year as a cost-cutting move, but elements within the PCB feel both departments have suffered.

Previously, the former Test captain Intikhab Alam held the role of director for domestic cricket with the former fast bowler Zakir Khan serving as director for international cricket operations. But both were discharged in September 2015 after the PCB weighed up its budget, reducing its employee strength from 600 to 530.

The operations of both departments was left in charge of the general managers, Usman Wahla (International) and Ali Zia (domestic). The PCB is now considering appointing one director to oversee both departments.

Qasim, the former Test left-arm spinner who retired last year as the head of sports of National Bank of Pakistan, is the frontrunner for the post. There is some support for Rasheed, but is coming off a poor stint as chief selector, a factor that might undermine his chances.

Sohail, meanwhile, has had a rough history with the PCB while occupying various high-profile posts in past. The decision is expected next month.

The PCB has also begun rationalising positions at various management levels, starting with dividing the role of director for academies and game development in two. Mudassar Nazar is set to take the high-profile post of director of academies, while the now diminished role of director of game development will go to the present director Aizad Sayid, who will look after schools and club cricket.

In another reshuffle, the PCB named Nazar as head of a new five-member cricket committee that include four former cricketers — Nazar, Nadeem Khan, Qasim and the former women’s captain Urooj Mumtaz — and the manager of international cricket operations Adnan Muzaffar. Shaharyar Khan, the PCB chairman, disbanded the earlier cricket committee since it was run by non-cricketers and came under severe criticism following Pakistan’s poor results in the Asia Cup and World T20.

In the last two months, the PCB has launched an extensive revamp. It has disbanded the selection committee headed by Rasheed and given the chief selector role to Inzamam-ul-Haq; made Waqar Younis resign as head coach and replaced him with Mickey Arthur; dropped Shahid Afridi and handed the T20 captaincy to Sarfraz Ahmed; launched a biomechanics lab with equipment that had been lying unused for eight years at the National Cricket Academy; introduced a boot camp for Pakistan players for their fitness; and revived schools cricket.