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President should not appoint PCB chief - Imran

Imran Khan has criticised Pakistan president Asif Ali Zardari for his handling of cricket in the country which he said was "as much in the mess as the country"

Cricinfo staff
29-Jan-2009

Imran Khan: "The president of Pakistan is patron of the cricket board and appoints its chairman, unlike in most countries where the chairman is elected" © AFP
 
Imran Khan, the former Pakistan captain and politician, has said that the chief of the Pakistan board should be elected rather than be appointed by the country's president. Imran felt that cricket "is in as much of a mess as the country" and said, if the president wanted the game to prosper, he had to allow it to be an institution, with a constitution and elected representatives.
"No way should the president of the country appoint the cricket chief," Imran was quoted as saying in the Daily Telegraph. "The president of Pakistan is patron of the cricket board and appoints its chairman, unlike in most countries where the chairman is elected."
The latest mess in Pakistan cricket includes Shoaib Malik being replaced by Younis Khan as captain, and Javed Miandad resigning as the board's director of cricket. After Zardari came to power, many key posts in the administration were given to former players, and Miandad was the first one to quit.
Pakistan's current president Asif Ali Zardari had suggested holding a round-table conference with former captains and other stakeholders of the game to discuss problems plaguing it. Imran, however, rejected the proposal, saying the previous PCB regime under Nasim Ashraf had "wasted millions on such conferences to no avail".
"Why can't Pakistan cricket be based on successful models like [those of] Australia, South Africa and New Zealand, where the talent is concentrated in six regional teams set up by nurseries below?
"Our domestic cricket is incapable of polishing a talented youngster, so it needs an overhaul. We should do it quickly otherwise time will run out."