Perhaps the replacement of Ramiz Raja as PCB Chairman was only a matter of time. That Mr Raja lasted so long under the Shehbaz government is perhaps a little surprising, considering that this post is one of the prizes in the hands of the PM. Though Mr Raja’s predecessor, Mr Shehryar Khan, did manage to put in place a constitution, and had been elected to the post, that constitution did allow the PM to replace him by Mr Raja. The previous Prime Minister, Mr Imran Khan, was a distinguished ex-cricketer, with firm views on the structure of domestic cricket. He was able to get his views heard, indeed implemented, though he had not taken part in cricket politics after retirement 20 years ago. That he could do so was because of his control over the PCB, which is unprecedented in any other Test-playing nation.
This control cannot be blamed on colonialism. The Test and County Cricket Board has guarded its independence, and does not have any concern with the government of the day. The last British PM known to be a cricket fan was John Major. Though he joined Pakistan’s Nawaz Sharif and Australia’s Bob Hawke in a charity match at the 1991 Commonwealth Summit, he did not even try intervening in the ECB’s affairs. Nor did Mr Hawke. Mr Sharif did play a relatively more active role in the PCB. This power goes back probably to the Ayub era, when the President as Patron-in-chief got the right to appoint the BCCP (as it then was) President.
The present appointment is not being questioned. As Mr Sethi showed in his previous tenure, he can do the job as well as the next man. However, the path to the Chairman’s position should not run through the PMO. That means that anyone interested in the job must gain access to the PM. It is not just in cricket, but in other sports, there is a need for creator independence of the government. The argument that the government gives taxpayers’ money to the sports bodies does not apply to cricket, because of all the TV money flowing there. The best practices of other countries must be observed, and followed. However, if the change is not to be cosmetic, the Prime Minister must let go. Mian Shehbaz was not as much of a cricketer as Nawaz, but he can leave a greater mark on the game by giving up his absolute power over the PCB.
