LAHORE: Former captain Ramiz Raja has been elected the new chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board for a tenure of three years after winning an unopposed election, the cricket board announced on Monday.
Mr Ramiz Raja has been elected unanimously and unopposed as Pakistan Cricket Board’s 36th Chairman for a three-year term in a Special Meeting presided over by PCB Election Commissioner, Mr Justice (retd) Sheikh Azmat Saeed.
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Last month, Prime Minister Imran Khan, in his role as patron of the PCB, nominated Raja to the governing board. He was unanimously elected during a meeting in Lahore.
Khan and Raja were teammates on the 1992 World Cup squad that beat England in the final.
Raja, who played more than 250 international matches from 1984 to 1997, replaces Ehsan Mani who stepped down from his role last month.
The prime minister had shortlisted Raja’s name after Mani declined to accept a short-term extension when his three-year term expired last month.
After his retirement, Raja became a cricket commentator. The 59-year-old served as the PCB chief executive from 2003 to 2004.
He is only the fourth former cricketer after Ijaz Butt, Javed Burki and Abdul Hafeez Kardar to head the cricket body.
“One of my key focuses will be to help introduce in the Pakistan men’s cricket team the same culture, mindset, attitude and approach that once made Pakistan one of the most feared cricket playing nations,” Raja said in a PCB statement.
“Obviously, as a former cricketer, my other priority will be to look into the welfare of our past and present cricketers.
“The game has and will always be about the cricketers and, as such, they deserve more recognition and respect from their parent institution.”
Last week, PCB announced that head coach Misbah ul-Haq and bowling coach Waqar Younis had stepped down from their respective roles, shortly after their squad for the T20 World Cup was named.
