During an action-packed stint as PCB chairman that spanned almost 15 months, Najam Sethi attracted both criticism and praise in equal measure. Before taking over, he "mistakenly thought that the job would be a piece of cake" but Sethi soon realized that running Pakistan cricket wasn’t an easy task -- in fact far from it.

He had his wings clipped by the courts at the very start and remained embroiled in a game of musical chairs with his predecessor Zaka Ashraf since replacing him as PCB chief in June last year. It wasn’t a pretty sight as Ashraf was unwilling to let go while Sethi, too, refused to budge. Those were the times when Sethi’s critics accused him of being power-hungry and predicted that he had joined the Board for the long haul. However, in the end, Sethi silenced them by declaring that he would not contest the election for PCB chairman. But before stepping aside he did engineer a new constitution and paved the path for the election of the next Board chairman. Both the constitution and the upcoming election (to be held tomorrow) have ignited criticism from some sections but Sethi believes that together they are a big step forward for Pakistan cricket.

In a detailed interview with The News on Sunday, the eminent journalist talks about the highs and lows of his tenure as PCB chairman and hopes that the steps taken by him would benefit Pakistan cricket. Following are the excerpts of the interview.

TNS: Your stint as PCB chairman was quite a roller-coaster ride. Why did you accept it? Do you feel relieved that it’s finally over?

Najam Sethi: Yes, it was a roller coaster ride. When I reluctantly accepted the honorary job, I thought I could hold PCB chairman’s elections and go home in three months, as I had done when I was nominated consensus chief minister of Punjab three months earlier. I mistakenly thought it would be a piece of cake. But I hadn’t reckoned with the conspiracies and blackmailing tactics of a clutch of vested interests to thwart my objectives via the Islamabad High Court - why every petitioner chose to go solely to Islamabad for "justice" from the four corners of the country is a question that remains embedded in murky zones. This degenerated into a destabilising game of musical chairs until the Supreme Court finally stepped in to end the nonsense. Now that I have been allowed to complete my mission, I have stepped aside, as I always promised I would, and paved the way for a democratic constitution and new chairman to continue the good work done in the PCB in recent months.

TNS: Was the PCB in a mess when you took over last year?

NS: Yes. I was stunned by the corruption practices and unaccountability in the PCB. It had been treated as a personal fiefdom by previous chairmen who had milked it dry. In my first briefing by the CFO, I was told that if we didn’t cut expenses and increase revenues, the PCB would be bankrupt in three years! The chief selector Iqbal Qasim gave me my second shock when we met. He said that domestic cricket was in such disarray that the stream of cricketing talent in the country was running dry. The PCB was stuffed with redundant sifarshis, people were sitting atop senior jobs without approval of the BoG and in violation of the rules of business. Vested interests had log-jammed the PCB in over 300 court cases. And the record showed that we had not been forcefully or even adequately represented in the ICC.

TNS: What were the most important tasks that you thought you needed to achieve as PCB chairman?

NS: For nine months, I wasn’t allowed by the IHC to take any significant decisions or derailed and ousted whenever I was in any position to do so. So I spent all my time getting detailed briefs and asking hard questions from the heads of all departments on every aspect of the PCB’s operations. By the time I finally got the green light to move ahead in February 2014, my agenda was ready: fashion a democratic constitution, end Pakistan cricket’s isolation in the ICC, stitch up an exciting and profitable Foreign Tour Programme for the next eight years, revive cricketing ties with India, try and bring a foreign team to Pakistan, revamp domestic cricket, fix budgetary priorities and plug financial leaks, hire the best professional coaches in the business, set up a dynamic website, apply to PEMRA for a FM radio cricket channel, recover outstanding dues from defaulters, and so on.

TNS: What were the hurdles that came in your way as you tried to reach your goals?

NS: There were many hurdles. The IHC was one. Frankly its judgments were legally incomprehensible. Several ex-cricketers who lobbied for lucrative jobs and didn’t get them were vicious in their attacks on me personally. A couple of ex-chairmen PCB who had lorded it over the PCB after they were nominated by the Patron of their times had suddenly discovered democracy and were unduly critical, Arif Abbasi in particular. Sections of the media which were hostile to GEO, for which I work as an anchor, or which wanted to scratch the back of ex-chairman Zaka Ashraf for various unprofessional reasons, took out their knives. There was so much negativity in the air which was hurting my well-earned credibility and neutrality that I was compelled twice to go to the PM and ask him to let me go home, but he refused because he felt that a job had to be done and I should do it.

TNS: Do you think that as PCB chairman you did manage to achieve substantial targets?

NS: Yes, the record speaks for itself. I was able to cleanse the PCB of over 140 redundant employees at a saving of about six million rupees per month! This saving enabled me to increase the salaries of the remaining staffers by about 10%, increase pensions of ex-Test cricketers by about 30% on average, give a stipend of Rs5000 per month to 50 top Under-16 cricketers, increase central contract salaries of the national squad by 25% etc. I’ve appointed the best national and international coaches and empowered them to train and select the best cricketers in the country along with the new selection committees of untainted and respected ex-Test cricketers. We have ended Pakistan’s isolation in international cricket and become the fourth most powerful member of the ICC and we’ve signed FTP contracts worth $400-500 million over the next eight years, which is an unprecedented feat. We’re on the powerful Exec Comm of the ICC and next year we shall sit in the chair of the President of ICC. Domestic cricket revamp has been accomplished, which will lead to fewer but truer first-class cricket matches and tournaments funded partly by private sector sponsors. And Pakistan Super League is about to become a wonderful and exciting reality in the months to come. Most important, I have ended the culture of sifarish and blackmail that was eroding the PCB from within. During the year ended 30 June 2014, the following are brief highlights of PCB’s budgetary position: Highest Pretax profits of Rs800 million since 2011 against a budgeted deficit of Rs366 million for this year, due to austerity measures, economies of all scales and generation of better revenues especially television rights. Then there has been a 12% reduction in administrative cost of PCB as compared to previous year, mainly because of reduction of staff, elimination of unnecessary travelling, elimination of unnecessary advertisement and promo expenses. We have also made drastic and large economies in expenses pertaining to various cricket series at neutral venues. Rs657 million was budgeted while actual expense is about Rs500 million - a reduction of about 24%. As far as other expenses are concerned, there was a 17% reduction in expenses on tours outside Pakistan. Rs246 million was budgeted while actual expense was Rs217 million. I was able to stop massive capital expenditures originally budgeted for Rs 2 billion and subsequently reduced to Rs196 million. And so on.

TNS: There is a general impression that there are lots of politics, intrigues and other such stuff going on in Pakistan cricket both in the field and also in the boardroom. How much of that do you think is true?

NS: Actually, all the intrigues and politics are outside the PCB, with various stake-holders, actual and potential, jostling for positions by hook or crook. That is why the PCB is log-jammed in court cases. But there has also been bad politics and camps inside the cricket team and a sifarshi culture among the selectors and coaches. I have tried to root out such practices.

TNS: Do you truly believe that the upcoming election for the new chairman as well as the new PCB constitution will finally put an end to all the uncertainty and turmoil in the Board?

NS: Yes, the new constitution is a big step forward because it is approved by the Supreme Court and can’t be challenged by vested interests. Hopefully, the new chairman will be unanimously elected so that there are no divisions inside the BoG. The fact that five out of nine members of the new BoG were members of the PCB’s Management Committee of which I was chairman will ensure that there is continuity with the policies chartered while I was in office.

TNS: You will continue to be a part of the Board after the election. What sort of role are you planning to play in the coming days?

NS: I will try and push for a continuation of demonstrated successful policies. Most important, I will act as a sort of watchdog to ensure that bad practices don’t creep back into the PCB.

TNS: You managed to line up some important bilateral series for Pakistan in the FTP but are you confident that India will honour all the commitments and not hide behind its government’s anti-Pakistan approach like it has done in the past?

NS: All FTPs among ICC members are governed by Force Majeure Clauses and subject to approval of the governments of respective countries. Where we have moved ahead is in signing an FTP with BCCI which the new ICC President and ex-BCCI chief, Mr N Srinavasin, is committed to fulfilling.

TNS: You are a staunch supporter of the Pakistan Super League (PSL). Do you think that it is wise to invest in such a venture when the professional T20 market has become quite saturated? In addition there also lingering issues like corruption. How will the Board ensure that the PSL is somehow shielded from any major mishap like fixing allegations or big financial losses?

A: My sense is that because of the delays owing to the court cases and instability in the PCB, the PSL is already threatened by shortage of time - barely four months to go and the bidding process hasn’t been completed --to get the best bids from credible financial companies. Some high-value bidders haven’t bid because they wanted at least one year to prepare for PSL. So it is up to the new BoG to decide whether PCB should go ahead with PSL this year or the next.

TNS: You were working overtime to help bring international cricket back to Pakistan. But do you think that it is even possible to convince a major cricket-playing nation to tour our violence-hit country in the near future?

NS: Ireland had agreed to tour Pakistan for a short 3 ODI tournament in September but the Karachi airport terrorist attack compelled us to postpone it. Hopefully, next year, we will succeed in bring a couple of foreign teams to Pakistan and break the ice.

TNS: Tell us about the highs and lows of your tenure as PCB chairman?

NS: The court cases, negative media and ex-cricketers, and musical chairs with Zaka Ashraf were as low as one can get. The highs came in the end when I was vindicated by the SC and allowed to complete my job! My record will speak for itself.