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LAHORE: The death of former chairperson of the Pakistan People’s Party, Nusrat Bhutto, has delayed the expected takeover of Mohammad Zaka Ashraf as the new chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB).
While none of the PCB officials are ready to say anything about Zaka’s exact plans on his date of joining, the death of Mrs Bhutto is likely to delay it for some more days. In fact, Zaka, according to the government notification, has to first resign as Zarai Taraqiaiti Bank Limited (ZTBL) president before taking charge as PCB chairman.
There were unofficial reports that Zaka would resign from ZTBL on Monday to join the PCB the same afternoon, but since the government announced a holiday on the day, the process could not take place.
“Now it is likely that Zaka will tender his resignation on Tuesday and hopefully to join the PCB same day,” one of the PCB official told Dawn on the condition of anonymity.
In the absence of a chairman, the PCB working has come to a near halt at a crucial juncture when the trial of the infamous spot-fixing case against three Pakistani cricketers — Salman Butt, Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Aamir — is being heard in a court of law in London.
Also, the Pakistan cricket team is grappling for honours against a leading team like Sri Lanka at the neutral venue of the UAE and, of course, the country’s premier domestic event — the Quaid-i-Azam Trophy — is also in full swing.
