PCB unhappy with ICC Task Force

[Fawad2010]

The PCB is unhappy with some of the recommendations made by the ICC's Task Team to reform the sport in the troubled country. Well-placed sources said that while the PCB was happy that the ICC task force recognized the need and compulsion for Pakistan and India to resume bilateral ties, it had reservations over some other recommendations in their final report presented to the ICC executive council in Hong Kong. "Making recommendations or suggestions about the quality of cricket balls we use in our domestic cricket or on our selection process are issues that should not concern the task force and purely internal matters of the PCB," one source said. The PTT has recommended reforms on how the Board should be run and on even issues like selection, managerial appointments and use of standard ball in domestic cricket. Among the 63 recommendations listed by the PTT is also one about reducing powers of the Chairman and having a chief executive with more authority. Presently, Board chairman Ijaz Butt also holds the post of chief executive as per the PCB constitution. "The PTT was formed in 2009 with focus on security situation in Pakistan after the attack on the Sri Lankan team but their role got more wide-ranging and while we respect their recommendations, some of them areas broached upon should be sole responsibility of the PCB," one source noted. The PTT report has also called for a resumption of cricket ties with India, recognising it to be a key component of the fabric of Pakistan's cricket. . A PCB official said after Butt returned on July 21 from vacations, the recommendations of the PTT would be reviewed in detail and the PCB would than get back to the ICC with its observations. But some of the recommendations are too strong to digest for PCB officials like the one that states: "Perhaps the strongest of the recommendations relate to the governance structures of Pakistan cricket," the executive summary of the report states. "It is highly unusual that the President of the country is entitled to appoint both the chairman of the PCB and over half of the Governing Board. It is also inconsistent with the demands of modern sports administration that the chairman also holds the powers of the CEO. "The PTT believes there should be a wholesale (internal) review of the PCB's governance structures, including its constitution. While recognizing that changes may not happen overnight, the PTT believes that preserving the status quo will constrain the development of Pakistan cricket in the long-term and is not in keeping with international best practice in sports administration." The report also calls for constitutional changes aimed at reducing the chairman's powers and making the role a non-executive one. It has also suggested the PCB should only award central contracts to 20 players.

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