Draft bill to criminalise fixing sent to IPC Ministry

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Cricket Board Chairman Ehsan Mani said on Thursday that the final draft of the bill to criminalise match- and spot-fixing has been submitted with the Ministry of Inter-Provincial Coordination (IPC).

“The draft is now with the IPC Ministry, which will forward it to the relevant authorities within the next seven days,” Mani told ‘The News’.

“New Zealand, Australia and Sri Lanka have introduced such legislation. We also want to criminalise match-fixing on those lines,” he added.

Mani did not share the details of the draft. “Let it take the legal course. We have approved the draft and the ministry has seven days to consider it and send it to the cabinet committee of legislation for further action,” he said.

He said Pakistan will host the 2022 Asia Cup after Sri Lanka’s turn next year.

Mani also informed that interim committees for provincial associations would be announced within a month. “We have some legal and registration problems. That is delaying the announcement. We are fighting these cases. Northern is already registered and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa is about to be registered. Covid-19 also came in the way. Hopefully, everything will be done in a month’s time,” the PCB chairman said.

He expressed his concern over Iqbal Qasim’s resignation as the Cricket Committee’s head. “He had one point that resulted in his resignation and that was the inclusion of departments. We never promised him that as we knew department cricket is now history in Pakistan.”

He said Wasim Akram could chair the Cricket Committee meetings till the time it has a new chairman.

“Cricket Committee will be consulted regarding appointment of a new chief selector. I will also consult others including Zakir Khan and Nadeem Khan,” he said.

Mani said he is the PCB chairman for three years. “I don’t want to continue in any position unnecessarily. If the board, not the Prime Minister, wants me to continue for a further three years, I will consider it. The same happened during my tenure as the ICC president; I continued for three years and extended my tenure for a year on special request,” he said.