PCB chief stripped of authority

The turmoil in Pakistan cricket refuses to end with the Islamabad High Court stripping PCB’s acting Chairman Najam Sethi of all powers and authority.

The Islamabad High Court, acting on a constitutional writ petition, also ordered the Election Commission of Pakistan to hold polls for the Chairman’s position within 90 days starting Sunday.  The Court also made it mandatory that only those candidates be eligible to contest who were graduates and had either played first-class or Test cricket.

The IHC, in its 30-page judgement, also passed some other strong decisions that included a directive to the Auditor General of Pakistan to carry out a complete audit of the PCB accounts for the last five years.

The Court also felt that a journalist and one cricket enthusiast with considerable knowledge should be part of the national selection committee.

Sethi recently appointed Moin Khan as chief selector and also approved the national squad for the West Indies tour.

Questions are now being asked as to who will take decisions on selection matters.