'Misleading, inaccurate': PCB rebuts Raja's claims against Sethi

Terming former Pakistan Cricket Board chairman Ramiz Raja's expense claims against Chairman PCB Management Committee Najam Sethi, the board Wednesday rejected all the assertations and said their circumstances could not be compared. 

"Former chairman Raja’s comparison of his and Sethi’s expenses during his previous term is misleading and inaccurate as the circumstances are incomparable," the board said in a statement.

Backing the rebuttal with details, the PCB said the Pakistan Super League (PSL) from 2016 to 2018 were held offshore, implying many visits to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to organise the marquee tournament.

However, he said no PSL allowances have ever been paid to Sethi and the information has been merely presented as a potential payable.

"In contrast, PSL 2022 was held under former Chairman Mr Raja and was staged only in Karachi and Lahore," the statement noted.

The PCB said that "foreign tour expenses are high" for current Sethi as, during his previous tenure, PSL and Pakistan’s home international matches were played outside Pakistan.

Therefore, the board said, the current chairman was required to make frequent visits to the UAE for PSL and bilateral series and for related meetings.

"All travel expenses were approved by the appropriate authorities and were duly audited (internally and externally)," the statement mentioned.

Car allowance was paid to current Sethi as per the Board of Governor’s approval as he had used his personal armoured vehicle due to security threats, the PCB said.

On the contrary, it noted, the PCB provided the former chairman with a brand new armoured vehicle costing a whopping Rs16.5 million

The security expense of the current chairman was high owing to additional security that needed to be provided to him as he was the former Punjab chief minister, the board said.

"Intelligence Bureau and Special Branch Punjab had issued advised of threats to him," the PCB added.

"It is pertinent to remember that the current chairman had sent a legal notice to the PCB regarding the table of expenses as soon as these were made public through the PCB corporate website," it added.