Staff restructuring triggers protest against ACB top brass

LAHORE: A large cull of employees at the Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) has provoked an uprising against chairman Atif Mashal and chief executive Shafiqullah Stanikzai.

The ACB axed or shuffled over 30 employees, including a number of top officials, as part of extensive reforms after obtaining Full Membership at the ICC but it has led to employees alleging that the leadership is mismanaging cricket affairs and misusing funds sanctioned for the development of cricket.

As many as 25 managers across various departments were let go, a step taken, according to Mashal, for the sake of reform and restructuring. While some of the staff had their contracts terminated outright, others were given one month’s notice. A few members of the staff were also either demoted, allegedly, or moved to positions outside their areas of expertise.

The aggrieved employees and ex-employees protested the new recruitments and held a press conference detailing allegations of corruption and mismanagement within the board. They also listed these in an email to the ACB board of governors, which includes government officials.

The email, which ESPNcricinfo has accessed, has made numerous allegations including the squandering of “precious time and money” on self-promotion while falling behind on infrastructure development, and new staff recruitments made without following HR protocol. The email also questioned the sacking of staff who played a “key role” in Afghanistan achieving Full Membership.

“ACB staff would like to inform the respected Board members that if such management is working in ACB as leaders, we staff will not work anymore in ACB,” the email read.

Mashal told ESPNcricinfo that he did not need to respond to the allegations.

“This uprising is a result of a few people getting fired, which was because of reforms,” Mashal said.  —Agencies