Zaka Ashraf has stepped down from the post of Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman. He announced his decision to resign after chairing a managing committee meeting in Lahore on Friday (January 19).
Zaka Ashraf had served as the PCB chairman during the 2011-13 period and returned to replace Najam Sethi at the helm in July last year after a change in the political coalition ruling the country. Later in November, he received a three-month extension to continue as the head of PCB’s Management Committee.
The resignation was pretty much on the cards since reports emerged that the Ministry of Inter-Provincial Coordination (IPC) did not allow Zaka Ashraf to form the Board of Governors (BoGs), the electoral college of the PCB, which has to elect chairman of the Board for a three-year term. He reportedly wanted to hold an important IMC meeting in Karachi earlier this week to form the BoG but the IPC Ministry disallowed the meeting.
Zaka Ashraf steps down:
“At the end of the meeting, Mr Zaka Ashraf announced that he had decided to tender his resignation as chairman and member of the MC to the honourable Patron Caretaker Prime Minister Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar,” a PCB statement said.
“In his concluding remarks, Mr Zaka Ashraf, thanked the honourable Patron PCB for the confidence and trust reposed by him and extended his best wishes and prayers for the betterment of Pakistan and Pakistan cricket,” the statement added.
According to a report in Cricbuzz, another reason behind Zaka Ashraf’s sudden exit is his educational qualification. He apparently is not a graduate. His tenure also also set to end in February and foreseeing the inevitable, he decided to step down.
Meanwhile, recent reports state that Ashraf’s resignation could have an impact on Mohammad Hafeez’s future as well. Hafeez was appointed as the team director in November and could be sacked from his position.