LAHORE: Chairman Pakistan Cricket Board Najam Sethi was unanimously given an unqualified vote of confidence by the general body in the annual meeting held here on Tuesday.

“The elected presidents of the cricketing regions of Pakistan congratulated Sethi on showing exemplary leadership in the first year of his three-year term as elected chairman of the PCB,” a press release issue by the Board said.

“The vote of confidence resolution by the regional presidents was presented at the meeting by regional presidents and wholeheartedly endorsed by the entire General Body,” the press release added.

It also referred to a statement jointly issued by the regional heads which said: “We extend our full support and cooperation to Mr. Sethi in his tireless efforts to revive cricket in Pakistan. He has singularly set up the PSL as the first international brand of Pakistan and brought international cricket home to tens of millions of fans. Our vote of confidence in him is unqualified; we support his vision for a new and exciting era of cricket that will bring glory to our cricket.”

Meanwhile, the AGM 2018 accepted a request made by Gawadar Cricket Association to grant it Associate Membership.The Chairman PCB announced a special grant of Rs 50 million for the promotion of the game in remote areas across the country, besides this figure the annual expenditure on Regional and District cricket has been increased by Rs 100 million. In the last fiscal year 2017-2018, Rs 300 million was allocated for the same purpose and now it stands at Rs 400million.

The Chairman PCB also proposed a two-day session prior to the next AGM in order to ensure the hearing and resolution of the grievances by the General Body members. The proposal was unanimously accepted by the members.

The General Body appreciated the PCB initiatives of reviving Inter-School and Inter-Club Tournaments across the country, the General Body members advised the PCB on the possible improvements in future editions of these two tournaments.

Earlier in his address to the General Body members, Sethi spoke at length about the progress made by the Board in the first year of his three-year tenure.

Sethi said that since taking over, he has tried his best to bring a professional change and approach at PCB. He added that the revival of international cricket has already been a huge success in Lahore and Karachi.

Sethi also spoke about the Game Development Programs underway across the country, adding that the National Cricket Academy coaches were working very hard on development of back-up players through a rigorous High Performance Camp which is in full swing at the NCA Lahore, while fringe players are attending academies all around the country.

The chairman hailed the blossoming of PSL into a world class event that could compete with the very best in the shortest format.

He added that the media values of all six franchises and PSL assets were going up phenomenally with the cumulative media value of the PSL league now estimated at Rs three billion.

The Chairman further added that the PCB will be starting the bidding process for the next three-year cycle and record breaking numbers are expected as indicated by Nielsen Sports who are rated amongst the top analysis firms in the sporting world.

Published in Dawn, July 18th, 2018