LAHORE, Aug 19: The Federal Sports Minister Najamuddin Khan hinted on Tuesday that a former Test cricketer could be appointed as the next chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB).

The names of Ijaz Butt and Majid Khan are being mentioned as front runners for the coveted post.

The imposition of ad hoc on PCB is likely in the next couple of days after which its governing and general bodies shall stand dissolved while its Chief Financial Officer and the Chief Operating Officer will be asked to vacate their respective offices.

The Federal Sports Ministry has decided to send the Prime Minister a summary for the imposition of the ad hoc on the PCB (and a meeting of the ministry in that connection will be held in Islamabad on Wednesday.

Though the Prime Minister cannot impose the ad hoc directly since the PCB’s patron is the president of Pakistan, it is being said that acting president Mohammadmian Soomro’s approval will be a formality.

According to the PCB Constitution: “Supersession of PCB (1) The Patron may, if satisfied that PCB is unable to perform its functions for any reason, by order supersede the management of PCB and appoint an ad hoc committee consisting of a chairman and as many members as he may consider appropriate for performance of the functions of PCB.

“(2) Upon an order of supersession issued under sub-paragraph (1), the Governing Board and the General Body shall stand dissolved and the Chairman, Chief Financial Officer (CFO) and the Chief Operating Officer (COO) shall vacate their respective offices.”

As chairman Dr Nasim Ashraf has already tendered his resignation, therefore, CFO Arif Kitchelo and COO Shafqat Naghmi have to vacate their posts too.The Governing Board consists of 15 members including the chairman, nine nominated and five elected members.

The decision of appointing a former Test cricketer is appreciable, since three non-technocrats who were tested during the last nine years failed to deliver.

Firstly Tauqir Zia, a serving general, took charge of PCB in year 2000 and was at the helm till 2004. During this period Pakistan could not qualify for the second round of the World Cup 2003 and lost several Test and ODI contests.

Besides, the refusal of Australia and the West Indies to tour Pakistan after the 9/11 attacks weakened PCB’s financial position to a larger extent and had India not toured in 2004, the board would have gone bankrupt.

Gen Tauqir’s regime was followed by a seasoned diplomat, Shaharyar M Khan but his tenure also proved disappointing as no significant improvement was seen in Pakistan cricket. The player-power factor emerged in a big way and captain Inzamam-ul-Haq and band of men went from bad to worse in international cricket.

Then came Dr Nasim Ashraf, a nephrologist by profession, who struggled in the job too, as Pakistan cricket touched lowest ebb due to series of ugly rows.

Agencies add: Former Test captain Majid Khan is likely to head an ad hoc committee that will run Pakistan’s cricket affairs over the next few months, official sources said on Tuesday.

Sources said the Sports Ministry had sent a summary to the Prime Minister seeking approval for appointment of the ad-hoc committee after Pakistan Cricket Board Chairman, Dr Nasim Ashraf submitted his resignation to the President.

“A number of former Test players including Majid, Imran Khan, Wasim Bari, Javed Miandad and Ijaz Butt have been invited for a meeting at the Sports Ministry on Wednesday in which the ad-hoc committee will be given final shape,” one source said.

“There are still some other candidates in the run to be on the ad-hoc committee, among them are Dr Zafar Altaf, a former bureaucrat and selector, and Dr Mohammad Ali Shah, the president of the Karachi City Association (KCCA).”

The Board comes under the perview of the president who is also the chief patron of the PCB but after his exit, only the acting president can suspend or amend the constitution of the PCB.