Wasim Khan quits weeks after tour chaos

KARACHI: The chief executive of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Wasim Khan resigned on Wednesday, two weeks after New Zealand and England abandoned tours of the South Asian nation over security concerns.

Wasim — who has been credited for reviving Pakistan’s international cricket after a 2009 attack on the Sri Lankan team sent the country into isolation for years — gave no reason for quitting.

“When I arrived in 2019, there was a real need to build relationships and restore and enhance the global image and reputation of the PCB and Pakistan cricket,” he said at an emergency meeting according to a statement released by the PCB on Wednesday.

“With decisive and strategic decision-making, we succeeded in earning the goodwill and respect of the global cricketing family, which I am hopeful will lead to increased international cricket being hosted in Pakistan in future.”

Khan added it was “hugely satisfying” to see the resumption of Test cricket, which has included recent tours by South Africa, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Zimbabwe.

But Pakistan is again facing cricketing isolation after New Zealand called off their first tour of the country in 18 years earlier this month over security concerns.

Their decision was swiftly followed by England’s cancellation of a planned tour in October.

“(The) Pakistan Cricket Board today confirmed Wasim Khan has tendered his resignation as chief executive,” the PCB said in the statement.

The PCB’s board of governors later met by videoconference during which they unanimously accepted the resignation.

Khan, who is British with Pakistani heritage, was hired on a three-year contract in 2019 and had organised Pakistan’s tours of England and then New Zealand amid severe Covid-19 restrictions last year.

The first British Muslim to play county cricket in England, he had reported run-ins with former PCB chairman Ehsan Mani, who he accused of stopping him from working freely.

Pakistan was forced to play its home matches at neutral venues in the United Arab Emirates after the attacks on the Sri Lankan team bus in 2009. Pakistan has only hosted South Africa, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Zimbabwe since then.