PM Shehbaz nominates Zaka Ashraf, Mustafa Ramday as members of PCB Board of Governors

• PM Shehbaz nominated names in capacity of PCB patron-in-chief.
• Zaka Ashraf is most likely to take up the elite post once again.
• Election is likely to take place later this week.

Former chairman Muhammad Zaka Ashraf and Mustafa Advocate Supreme Court Mustafa Ramday have been nominated as members of the Board of Governors of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), according to a notification issued by the Prime Minister’s Office.

The notification, issued on Tuesday, stated that Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, in the capacity of PCB patron-in-chief, has nominated Ashraf and Ramday as members of the PCB's Board of Governors.

Ashraf, who remained the PCB chairman in the last government of the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), is most likely to take up the elite post once again.

With the nomination of Ashraf and Ramday, the BoG's 10 members have been completed. Apart from Ashraf and Ramday, four representatives each from cricket associations and departments will sit in the BoG.

The chief election commissioner will now call for the election which is likely to take place later this week.

Earlier today, Najam Sethi, who was appointed as the head of the PCB management committee, confirmed that he is no longer in the race to become the PCB chairman.

The 75-year-old, while sharing an update in a tweet, said that he doesn't want to be a "bone of contention" between Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and PPP co-Chairman Asif Ali Zardari.

Meanwhile, Federal Minister for IPC Ehsan Ur Rehman Mazari had reiterated that Ashraf, who has the backing of the PPP leadership, will become the next chairman of the PCB.

Mazari, while speaking in a local television show, said Sethi's mandate, being the head of the management committee, was only to conduct free and fair elections in regions.

"Najam Sethi came to temporarily head the interim management committee and only had one mandate to conduct elections in the cricket regions," he said.

PPP's stance on the matter is that since its minister heads the IPC Division and PCB is related to the ministry, its chairman should be appointed by the party.

In December last year, PM Shehbaz appointed the 14-member committee to reinforce the 2014 constitution, bringing back departmental cricket.

Initially, 120 days were given to the committee to restore the 2014 constitution. However, a two-month extension was given to Sethi and company which ends on June 21.

Selection criteria

According to the PCB constitution, the chairman of the board is elected by the board of governors from within the members of the board of governors.

Clause 6(1) of PCB says that the chairman of the board is elected by the board of governors from amongst themselves following clause 7 (of the PCB constitution) for three years.

Clause 7 explains the process to elect the chairman of the PCB which shall be done by convening a special meeting of the board of governors by the majority of the total voting membership.

The board of governors should, according to the constitution, have 11 members, with 10 having voting rights, under clause 12 of the PCB constitution which defines the “composition of the board of governors.”

According to 12.1 of PCB constitution, (a) three members from amongst the cricket association being the elected presidents of such CA, (b) two members nominated by the Patron, (c) four independent members amongst the nomination sent by the nomination committee, (d) Federal Secretary of Inter-Provincial Committee as an ex-officio member who will not be entitled to vote and (e.) the chief executive of the PCB.

Clause 13(2) of the constitution suggests that the quorum of the meeting shall be with five voting members including at least one member each appointed under paragraphs a, b and c of 12.1. However, there’s a provision for the quorum to be reduced pro-rata if the number of members is reduced.