Mani’s PCB revamping plan revolves around new constitution

By Abdul Mohi Shah
January 20, 2019

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Chairman Ehsan Mani plans a thorough assessment of all components of the PCB to give it a new look under a new constitution.

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In an exclusive interview with ‘The News’, Mani said his main reason for taking over the job was nothing else but to make the PCB professional and result oriented. “You cannot make changes overnight in a system that is there for decades. Obviously you need time for it.

I am very much on it and you will see the new face of the PCB within the next six months, though implementation will require another six months,” he said. The chairman plans to overhaul every component of the PCB including the administrative (financial, marketing and human resource) and cricketing (domestic and international).

Mani said the process to give the PCB a professional look had started with the appointment of a managing director and director media.

“Waseem Khan, who has been appointed as MD, is possibly the best available young cricket administrator around. He successfully launched the England and Wales Cricket Board’s ‘Chance to Shine’ initiative for schools in which the ECB invested over 50 million pounds. Waseem’s efforts got a rousing response and he became favourite for more important jobs. We scooped him for a lesser salary as compared to what he was getting from his county team. Our new Director Media, Samiul Hassan, has all the ability and experience to handle the media in an effective way.” Mani said when he took over the PCB in September, his aim was to make changes for the better. “Change for the sake of change is no solution.

Change for the betterment of an institution should be the main aim. I have noticed that in the PCB no one dares to confront the chairman’s ideas. A PCB chairman is all powerful and whatever he says is considered the final word. That is wrong. For the betterment of an institution or for a particular issue you have to have dialogues. I have served in many reputed international organisations in which the best product comes out at the end of a good debate. I want the same process to be adopted in the PCB with every expert and professional having his own views. There are no checks and balances on the PCB chairman so the fear of financial irregularities and misuse of powers remain. The Board of Governors meets just four times a year. So it is the chairman who is all powerful.”

The former ICC president said the existing system was all wrong and was not real result oriented. “So my foremost task was to appoint a chief executive, but I cannot do that under the existing PCB constitution. We have hired a managing director who can become a CEO once the PCB gets a new constitution.” Mani revealed that changes would be made in the PCB constitution to make it more practical according to modern day requirements.

“I have already initiated the process of making necessary changes in the constitution. The appointment of an MD is a big step forward in this respect. So now there is an MD to look after the day to day business of the board and I will be focusing my efforts on getting the best constitution for a better future for Pakistan cricket.”

He said the basic aim of any cricket board is to prepare a strategy and policy and then to get it approved. “Then the work of the management starts. The management is there to implement those policies. A chairman cannot do both as the fear of a conflict of interest remains. That is why we have hired Waseem Khan through a free and fair process that saw around 350 candidates applying for the job.

I had no favourites as the job of selecting the best was handed over to a three-member professional committee. I eventually became part of the selection process when the number of candidates was reduced to four. There was another quality candidate from Australia, but eventually the best candidate was selected for the job. A first class cricketer and a Masters degree holder in business studies from Warrick University, Waseem has also worked in different ECB committees including the anti-corruption body and the one which dispenses finances to the county teams. Even the ECB had eyes on him.”

Mani also spoke highly of Subhan Ahmad, who according to him will continue as the chief operating officer in the new set up. “All operations including overseeing stadiums, infrastructure, maintenance, HR and other relevant process would work under Subhan. 800-900 people work in the PCB, though the question remains how many of them are useful. As far as Subhan is concerned he has a vast institutional knowledge and is a real hard worker. I recommended him to the ICC where he served in two stints and the world body found him to be a real asset. The ICC wanted him permanently. I opposed that idea as I felt he was too useful for Pakistan cricket. Even the ICC has a CEO backed by a COO. There will be no clash of interest in the PCB setup.

The future PCB’s chain of command will be chairman, CEO and COO. I even suggested Subhan to apply for the CEO job but he felt he can contribute as a COO in a much better way.”

The PCB chairman said he would turn towards the marketing department at the conclusion of the fourth edition of the Pakistan Super League.

“Everyone is busy now as all focus is on the PSL. You would be surprised to know that there is no kit supplier for the Pakistan national team and we pay to get kits and other gear. Such a high profile team that gets so much coverage has no kit supplier. There’s no mobile phone operator sponsorship for the PCB. This is not only surprising but alarming. I plan to hire a top marketing person who will review the entire PCB marketing department at the end of the PSL.

The security department has already been reviewed.

“In a short span of time I have introduced some changes with many more to come. I want to make the PCB a professional institution as Cricket Australia, ECB and now the Indian board. The BCCI was as non-professional as we were till the time India’s Supreme Court intervened and started operation cleanup.”

Regarding cricket, the PCB chairman said all positions responsible for making competitive international and back-up teams would be reviewed.

Pointing out flaws in regional cricket, Mani said no region had the capacity to run cricket on its own. “The entire domestic cricket is being run by the PCB. A regional structure should have the ability and capacity to run all cricket promotional programs including school cricket. Though the PCB still runs school cricket involving around 400 schools, what is required is to broaden this initiative with the help and support of the regions. There are also ghost clubs which are only there for elections. We have to sort out all these negativities. We want strong regions having professional persons; their own chief executives and other essential staff to run the system. The PCB alone cannot not cover the entire country while sitting in Lahore. This wrong practice has been followed for years now. There should be a system in place in every region. By that way, we will even be able to bring the best talent to the fore and discourage nepotism that is rife in regions.”

To a question on the future format of domestic cricket, Mani said he would propose eight regional teams for first class cricket to the PCB’s patron in chief. “The future of Pakistan’s top cricket will be based on eight regional or city teams. We will also keep departments involvement. These departments have an important role to play.

Negotiations with their nominees is already underway. A committee headed by General (r) Muzammil is already working on domestic cricket reforms. We want to give a permanent system to Pakistan’s domestic cricket.”

Revealing the finer aspects of that system, Mani said first class and Grade II cricket would be organised simultaneously. “What happens now is all those players who play first class cricket also play Grade II cricket. If the same players play both first class and Grade II cricket, how will youngsters aged 25 and under get a chance to play regularly. This way actually the PCB is blocking the paths of budding players. Organising the two grades simultaneously means different players for different grades.”

The PCB chairman wants a more effective role of regional cricket in the future setup. “Unless and until school, club, district and regional cricket get the right direction, we cannot promote our cricket in real terms. Instead of looking to the PCB for favours and even for getting their pitches ready, the regions should be responsible for all promotional work including preparations of pitches.”

Mani said the performance of the entire Pakistan team including captain, selection committee and coaches would be reviewed at the end of the current series against South Africa. “You cannot assess the performances in the middle of a series.”

The PCB chairman said he would need six months to finalise the system and another six months to implement it in.

“A solid cricket system will be in place in this period. All these decisions would be made following thorough debates and after taking all stakeholders into confidence. I also want to look after the ageing players by involving them in matters relating to the game. Some of these players would be encouraged to take over coaching jobs, others would be helped in umpiring, curating and other technical jobs. So I think in the future Pakistan cricket setup, all those top cricketers who have served domestic cricket would have a role to play,” PCB Chairman Ehsan Mani said.

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